The Andrew Jones Cold Case
by FonzFan82
Summary: Andy helps an old friend solve a 12 - year - old cold case. The case is about a 30 - year - old deputy sheriff. Will Andy and Barney find the murderer?
1. Chapter 1

Beatrice Taylor ran into my office with a piece of paper in her hand. She looked worried because of the urgent message she had gotten on the telephone a few minutes ago.

"Hi, Aunt Bee. Looking for Andy?" Barney Fife asked.

"Yes, Barney. Where is he?"

"You look worried. What's going on, Aunt Bea?" Barney asked.

"I have a message for Andy, Barney. When is he coming back?" Aunt Bee asked, her voice going higher as it always did when she was concerned.

"He'll be here in a few minutes. He's getting a haircut," Barney said.

"I'll wait and give him the message myself," Aunt Bee said, waving the piece of paper around her face.

"I can give it to him," Barney volunteered.

"No, no, Barney. I want to do it," she said.

Aunt Bee didn't want to tell Barney that the telephone call was about murder. The situation sounded dangerous. She didn't want Barney to worry right away either so that was why she didn't say anything about the message from Sheriff Jeremy Cline.

That's whenI walked in.

"I'm back, Barn. Any messages?" I asked.

I didn't see Aunt Bee standing there right away.

"Just one. Aunt Bee," Barney said.

"Aunt Bee! I wasn't expecting you. What's wrong? " I asked, noticing the look on my aunt's face.

"You got a message at the house, Andy. It's from a friend of yours. I have it right here," Aunt Bee said.

I took the piece of paper from Aunt Bee and unfolded it twice as she had folded it.

"Who is it from?" I asked her.

"Sheriff Jeremy Cline," Aunt Bee answered.

"Good ol' Jeremy," I said with a smile on my face.

"Who's Jeremy Cline?" Barney asked.

"He's a good old friend of mine, Barn. Jeremy Cline is a sheriff like I am. We go way back," I said to my deputy.

"That far back, huh?" Barney asked.

"Yes," I said.

"I wonder what made Jeremy call," I said, starting to read the message Aunt Bee had written for me.

"Well, what did Jeremy want, Andy?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Tell us," Barney echoed.

"I don't want to worry you anymore, Aunt Bee. I'll tell you at suppertime. You go right back home and do whatever you need to do," I told her.

"All right," she said and said good – bye.

"Well, Ange, since Aunt Bee's gone, are you going to tell me what the message said?" Barney asked.

"All right, Barn. Jeremy wants me to help him on a case his department has worked on for almost over ten years. They've never gotten close to solving it. I'll call him now and see what the story is on this case," I said, picking up the telephone.

"Sara, give me Sheriff Jeremy Cline at the Milwaukee Sheriff's Department," I said.

While waiting for my friend to come on the line, Barney took a look at the message Aunt Bee had given me. He didn't like the looks of it either.

"I don't like this, Ange. I won't go for it," Barney whispered to his best friend and cousin.

"I don't either, Barn, but if a friend asks I have to help," I said as I heard my friend's voice come on to the other end of the line.

"Hi, Sheriff. Sheriff Taylor," I said.

"Hi, Andy. I see your sweet and lovely aunt gave you my message," Jeremy Cline said.

"She did. She sounded worried about your urgent message, Jeremy. Why don't you tell me what you want me to help you with?" I asked.

"Well, Andy, this case has been going on for twelve years now and I'd like to see it come to a close. Do you remember me mentioning my deputy, Andrew Jones? We're still working on his case," Jeremy said.

"I think I remember you mentioning that deputy of yours, Jeremy. Wasn't he the young 'un?" I asked.

"Yes. We're still trying to figure out who his murderer is and we're coming up with nothing," Jeremy said.

"How old was your deputy?" I asked.

"Thirty," Jeremy answered.

"That is young. He had his whole life ahead of him," I replied

"I know, Andy. We all miss him dearly. He was a good deputy," Jeremy sighed.

"I'll bet he was," I said understandingly.

"You're lucky you still have your deputy," Jeremy said.

"I know I am. I'd hate it if Barney was dead," I said.

"One thing about my deputy, Andy. He left a daughter who is handicapped. She is in a wheelchair and can't care for herself," Jeremy said.

"Ain't that sad. Where is your deputy's daughter now?" I asked.

"She is in her twenties now and lives with my deputy's mother," Jeremy answered.

"That is a long time, Jeremy. I'm glad you haven't given it up," I said.

"We don't like to give up. He'd been on the police force since he was eighteen," Jeremy added.

I didn't respond right away. I decided to let Jeremy continue talking.

"What did you say what was your deputy's name was?" I asked.

"Andrew Jones. He liked to be called, Andy like you," Jeremy said.

"Ain't that funny," I said, but I didn't laugh.

Barney was next to the telephone, listening to the entire conversation between the two sheriffs. He was interested. He didn't want to interrupt so he stayed put and silent, but I knew Barney was listening.

"Why don't you tell me more, Jeremy?" I asked.

Barney sure didn't like to hear the word murder. He whispered to me he was going on patrol and I nodded okay.

"I'd rather not say it on the phone, Andy. If you'd like I'd be happy to send it by mail so you can read it for yourself," Jeremy said.

"All right, Jeremy. Go ahead and send me everything you've got," I said.

"All right. I also have a question for you, Andy," Jeremy said.

"What's that?" I asked as I watched Barney leave the office.

"I want you to help me on this case, Andy. Will you help?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, I don't know, Jeremy. Mayberry doesn't have murder," I reminded my friend.

"I know that, Andy. I do need your help... please?" Jeremy begged.

I was quiet because I was thinking about it. I didn't want the entire town of Mayberry to know I was on a murder cold case.

"All right, Jeremy. I'll help you," I said.

"Thanks, Andy. I knew I could count on you," Jeremy said.

He promised me he would send more details on the cold case in the mail later that week.

"All right, Jeremy. I'll look for it," I said and the two hung up.

Barney returned. "I see you're finished with your phone call."

"Yup," I said.

"What did your sheriff friend say?" Barney asked.

"He wanted was me to help him with a cold case murder his department has worked on for over ten years. I said I would help," I said.

"Murder?! We've never had a murder in Mayberry. Are you sure you want to do this?" Barney asked.

"No, I'm not, Barney. All I'm doing is helping Sheriff Cline with his cold case. Will you do me a favor?" I asked.

"What's that?" Barney asked.

"Will you not tell the towns people we're on a cold case? I want this kept quiet," I said.

"Sure, Ange. Whatever you say. Whatever you say," Barney said.

Barney and I left the office around our usual time and we headed for my house in the patrol car.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ange," Barney said as I got out of the passenger's seat.

"Don't you want to come in, Barney and eat supper with us?" I asked.

"All right, Ange; thanks."

Barney followed me into the house.

"I'm home, Aunt Bee!" I called once we entered the house.

Aunt Bee put the timer on the stove and entered the living room.

"Hello, Andy, Barney," Aunt Bee said and gave the two men a hug.

"Andy, you got mail," Aunt Bee said.

"Thank you, Aunt Bee," I said, taking the mail from Aunt Bee.

"Did you talk to Jeremy at all today, Andy?" Aunt Bee asked.

"I did, Aunt Bee. I talked to him about the message you wrote down. The message was he asked me to help him on a case his department has worked on for over ten years," I told Aunt Bee.

"A murder cold case? Andy, you didn't tell him yes, did you? If you did, be careful. We don't have murder in Mayberry, you know," Aunt Bee reminded me.

"I know we don't, Aunt Bee. I told Jeremy that," I said.

"I told Andy the same thing, Aunt Bee," Barney said.

Opie came downstairs just then.

"Aunt Bee told me you're working on a murder. Is that true?" Opie asked.

"Well, yes, Opie, it is true," I said.

I gave Aunt Bee a look telling her I didn't want Opie to know that.

"The boy's old enough to know, Andy. He's going to be in college sooner or later so it's all right for him to know you're working on a ten – year – old murder," Aunt Bee said.

"The case is ten years old, Pa? What kind of case is this?" Opie asked.

"I don't want to share this kind of information with the family. Jeremy's sending the details tomorrow," I said.

"Who's Jeremy, Pa?" Opie asked.

"He's a friend of mine, Op. I think he has a son your age," I said, remembering Jeremy Cline had two children who were both in high school.

"What's his name? Does he go to Mayberry High too?" Opie asked, interested.

"No, no, Op. He doesn't live in North Carolina," I said.

"Where does this Cline kid live?" Opie asked.

"Milwaukee," I answered.

"I'd like to meet this kid, Pa," Opie said.

"Maybe you will, Son," I said.

The three of us heard the timer go off in the kitchen.

"Dinner is served!" Aunt Bee called from the kitchen and the three of us walked into the kitchen and joined Aunt Bee and sat down at the table.

"Doesn't that look delicious, Aunt Bee," I said.

"Thank you, Andy," she said.

"It does," Barney said, agreeing with me.

We ate in silence. All four around the table were wondering and worrying about the deputy sheriff's murder.


	2. Chapter 2

On Thursday afternoon. Barney got the mail while I was out of the office. He found a heavy manila envelope addressed to me from Milwaukee. He guessed it was from Sheriff Jeremy Cline.

"Andy is expecting this," Barney said to himself and put it on my desk. He figured it was about the cold case, but he knew better not to read somebody else's mail.

Several minutes later, I walked into the office.

"Did the mail come in, Barn?" I asked.

"Just now, Ange. There's something for you," Barney said.

"Thanks, Barn. Must be from Jeremy Cline about the case his department's working on," I said, seeing the envelope.

Barney couldn't believe how fat the envelope Jeremy Cline had sent for me to go through.

"That is one fat envelope there, Ange," Barney said.

"I know it is, Barney. I guess he's sent me everything he's had for the past twelve years. I'll go through it," I said.

"Twelve years is a long time to work on a case like this. Shouldn't they close it up?" Barney asked.

"Jeremy says they haven't found anybody to put into jail, Barney. They have no idea who could have murdered his deputy," I said.

"Did you say deputy, Ange? You know it's a federal offense to kill an officer," Barney said.

"I know that, Barney. I'm going to see if I can come up with something Sheriff Cline might have missed," I said.

"Good luck, Ange. Let me know if I can help," Barney said.

"Tell me, Andy. How did this deputy sheriff get murdered?" Barney asked.

I looked at Barney. "Jeremy told me his deputy was shot in the driver's seat of the patrol car. He was alone and somebody shot him through the window. He didn't have his gun with him while he was doing patrol," I said.

"What a way to die," Barney said, shaking his head.

"Don't you know it, Barney," I said.

"Isn't there more to this?" Barney asked.

"There is, Barney," I said as we watched Otis Campbell, the town drunk walk in for the weekend.

"Howdy, Barney, Andy," Otis said and locked himself into the cell.

"Hi, Otis," I said.

"Hi, Otis," Barney echoed.

"What's going on here?" Otis asked.

"Not much," I said.

"You're not missing much, Otis," Barney said to the town drunk.

"Isn't there more to this, Andy?" Barney asked.

"There is, Barney. From what I've seen here in the reports, the deputy sheriff who was murdered, he was supposed to go home for supper the morning he was murdered," I told Barney.

Otis was listening to the conversation Barney and I were having.

"What are you talking about? Who got shot?" Otis asked.

"Nobody you know, Otis. Andy's just helping a friend of his with a twelve – year – old cold case that he couldn't get solved," Barney said.

"Barney," I said.

I didn't want word to get out.

"What? He asked, I told," Barney said.

"You weren't supposed to tell," I whispered.

"Sorry, Ange. What was I supposed to say?" Barney whispered back.

Otis was listening to us whisper. Otis knew I never worked on murder cases.

"You never have worked on murders, have you, Andy?" Otis asked.

"No, Otis. This murder is from out-of-state," I said.

"Where?" Otis asked.

"The Midwest," I said.

I didn't want to say what state. I thought it wouldn't make a big deal to Otis.

"That far out, Andy? Wow," Otis said.

I didn't reply to Otis and went back to the reports Sheriff Cline had sent me.

"Ain't that sad, Andy. Did your friend tell you the deputy sheriff had any family?" Barney asked.

"Jeremy says he has family. He told me he left a daughter in a wheelchair who couldn't walk so she lives with the deputy's mother now and the daughter is in her twenties," I answered.

"Sad. Did the daughter have a mother of her own?" Barney asked.

"Jeremy says she never knew her mother. Her mother died at childbirth," I said.

"How sad. You know what this reminds me of?" Barney asked.

"What?" I asked.

"This daughter reminds me of Opie since he never knew his mother," Barney said.

"You're right, Barney. A little like the two of us," I agreed, seeing the picture Barney put together.

Both of us were in silence for a while and then Goober Pyle, who worked at Wally's Auto Repair, came into the office.

"Hi, Andy, Barney. Your patrol car is ready to be picked up," Goober said.

"Thanks, Goob. I'll send Barney to pick it up," I said.

That's when Goober saw a few pictures I was going through.

"What are you looking at, Andy?" Goober asked.

I gave Goober a look that told him it was none of his business.

"Andy says it's none of your business, Goober," Barney said.

"Thank you, Barney," I said.

"I was just curious what you guys were doing. You guys never get much work around this jail, do you?"

Goober saw Otis in the jail cell.

"Hi, Otis," Goober said.

"Hi, Goober," Otis said.

Goober got close to the jail's cell and whispered, "What are Andy and Barney up to? You can tell me."

"They're working on a twelve – year – old cold case murder that is from the Midwest," Otis whispered in Goober's ear.

"Wow. That's an old case. Keep me posted," Goober whispered back.

"I will," Otis said.

"I'll see you at the station, Barney," Goober said and left the office.

"What were those two talking about?" Barney asked me.

"Who knows?" I said, shrugging my shoulders.

Goober was at the filling station, filling up gas when Aunt Bee was in the line of cars. She was next in line.

"Hello, Aunt Bee," Goober said.

"Do you know Andy and Barney are working on a twelve – year – old murder case?"

"Yes, I do," Aunt Bee said.

She added, "How did you find out? Did Andy and Barney tell you?"

"No, they didn't tell me. Otis Campbell told me," Goober said.

"I see. Andy usually likes to keep his business quiet," Aunt Bee said.

"I know he does. Where did this case come from?" Goober asked.

"He's helping an old friend who happens to be a sheriff from Milwaukee. He asked Andy to help him with the case," Aunt Bee said.

"This sounds interesting," Goober said.

"I don't want Andy to get hurt," Aunt Bee said.

"He won't, Aunt Bee. You know Andy's a good sheriff," Goober reminded Aunt Bee.

"I know he is, Goober," Aunt Bee said and paid Goober for the gas and drove off.

Goober saw Howard, Sprague, the town clerk, drive in next.

"Hi, Howard," Goober said.

"Hi, Goober. Fill 'er up," Howard said.

"Did you hear the news?" Goober asked, filling the gas tank.

"What news?" Howard asked.

"Andy and Barney are working on a twelve – year – old cold case that is from the Midwest. It came from Milwaukee," Goober told Howard.

"No kidding. I've never heard of Mayberry having a murder before," Howard said.

"Me neither. This should be interesting," Goober said.

" How old did you say the case was again?" Howard asked.

"Twelve," Goober repeated.

"Wow. How did you find out? Did Andy and Barney tell you?" Howard asked.

"They didn't tell me, Howard. Otis Campbell, told me," Goober said.

"I told him to keep me posted on what's going on," Goober told Howard.

"Twelve years, huh? I wonder what kind of case that made Andy say yes to," Howard said.

"I don't know. I'm sure Otis will tell you," Goober said, "since he's there a lot."

"You've got a point, Goober. He can give us the details," Howard said.

"You're right, Howard. The tank's all filled up, so you're ready to go," Goober said.

"Thanks, Goob. Thanks for telling me the latest happenings in the sheriff's office," Howard said and drove back to the clerk's office where he worked.

The rest of the day had passed with the gossip on me and Barney working on the twelve – year – old murder cold case of the deputy sheriff. Opie had gotten out of school at three o'clock that afternoon and went to the sheriff's office.

"Hi, Pa," Opie said to me.

Barney had left so he could do school crossings for the kids.

"Hi, Op," I said to my son.

I was going through the pictures of the wanted suspects that Jeremy had thought they were suspects to the cold case.

"What are you doing, Pa?" Opie asked.

"Working on the case Sheriff Cline wanted me to help with, Op. Aren't you supposed to be home with Aunt Bee?" I asked.

"I just got out of school," Opie said.

I looked at my watch and could tell Opie was right.

"You're right, Op," I said.

"There is word around town about you and Barney working on the case, Pa. I know it's true," Opie said.

"Who spread the word, Opie?" I asked, not very happy.

"I don't know, Pa," Opie said, his backpack on his shoulder.

"I'll bet I know who did it. I bet Goober probably spread the word out," I said.

"Why would it be Goober, Pa? How did he know about you working on this case?" Opie asked.

"I'll tell you at home. I'll see you at supper," I said.

"All right, Pa. See you," Opie said and left the office.

A few minutes later Barney walked in the office.

"I'm back," Barney said.

"So I see," I said.

"I just saw Opie," Barney said.

"So you did. He just got out of school," I said.

"So I noticed. I saw him carrying his backpack on his shoulder," Barney said. "Ange, there is word about us working on the cold case."

"I just heard about it from Opie. I think I know who spread the word around," I said.

"Who?" Barney asked, not having the slightest idea and shrugged his shoulders.

"Goober," I said.

"Goober? You must be crazy, Andy. What made you think Goober spread the word about the murder on that deputy sheriff? Goober doesn't know the case is about a deputy sheriff," Barney pointed out.

"Of course he doesn't, Barney. He will find out sooner or later," I said.

I ate with Aunt Bee and Opie that night. I had the fat envelope with the pictures of the suspects and the reports of the past twelve years with me. I thought I'd read more to see what I could pick up.

"Did your case come in today, Andy?" Aunt Bee asked that night as supper was placed on the kitchen table.

"Yes, Aunt Bee," I said.

"Pa was going through some pictures when I came in," Opie said.

Aunt Bee didn't reply.

"Barney and I both heard gossip about the case I just got started on, Aunt Bee," I said.

"I saw Goober this afternoon when I went to get the car filled up," Aunt Bee said.

"I had a feeling he would spread the word out," I said, "so it's no surprise to me."

"Why would Goober do such a thing?" Aunt Bee asked.

"That's how Mayberry is, Aunt Bee. Full of gossip," I said. I knew the town was like that.

When the Taylor family finished eating supper that night, I watched Opie go to his bedroom to start his homework. I pulled out the fat envelope to read more of the reports Jeremy had sent me. I read through the night. Before I knew it Aunt Bee going upstairs stairs to bed.

"Good night, Andy," she said as we kissed good night.

"Good night, Aunt Bee. See you in the morning," I said and turned the lights off downstairs and followed my aunt upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning at the sheriff's office, I was going through more of the pictures Jeremy had sent me when the telephone rang. Barney offered to answer it this time.

"Sheriff's office," Barney said.

Barney listened to the caller and then hung up the telephone.

"Who was it, Barn?" I asked.

"Just a prank," Barney answered.

Barney saw one picture I was studying.

"What pictures are we looking at, Andy?" Barney asked.

Barney saw pictures of the patrol car that Deputy Jones was murdered in. Barney saw lots of blood in the front seat of the car.

"The patrol car, Barney," I said. "It's where the murder took place."

"I see. Where are the reports from the last twelve years?" Barney asked me.

Ihanded Barney the fat envelope.

"Thanks," Barney said.

"You're welcome," I returned.

Barney couldn't help looking at the pictures I was looking at and wanted to look at them himself.

"May I see those pictures, Andy?" Barney asked.

Barney opened the case file Jeremy had in the envelope for me to study. Barney saw the case file number was 401 – 69387.

"Ange, are there any pictures of the deputy in the stack?" Barney asked.

"Some, not many," I said.

"Does he look young like the age says?" Barney asked.

"Yes, Barney, but he looks his age," I said.

"Ange, are there any pictures of the deputy in the stack?" Barney asked.

"Some, not many," Andy said.

"Does he look young like the age says?" Barney asked.

"Yes, Barney, but he looks his age," Andy said.

"Any family pictures in the stack?" Barney asked.

"His daughter's in one," I said.

"Wondering," Barney said.

Barney read through the case file.

"Deputy Sheriff Andrew Jones, age thirty, was on patrol the morning of June tenth when he was murdered. Sheriff Cline says Deputy Sheriff Jones was alone in the patrol car and was unarmed when he was shot. The office has no suspects."

"Sheriff Cline adds Deputy Sheriff Jones was the best deputy the department has had for the past twelve years. He would like to say Deputy Sheriff Jones is in the department's prayers for his family, and he will be dearly missed. Sheriff Cline says Deputy Sheriff Jones was the best officer to care for the robberies that had happened during the twelve years in Deputy Sheriff Jones's duty. Deputy Sheriff Jones was a religious man, Sheriff Cline tells the reporters.

"Sheriff Cline says this is a no witness case and the sheriff's department would like to have your help on the case. For now, this is an ongoing investigation. For questions, call Sheriff Cline at the Sheriff's Department. Thank you," the report ended.

I saw Barney shake his head.

"A no witness case, Andy? How could you say yes to a no witness case? How would we find who the murderer is if there are no witnesses?" Barney said.

"We'll keep working on this, Barney. Like the report said, this is an ongoing investigation," I said.

"I saw that," Barney said, then added, "you know I'm not blind, Andy."

"I know you're not, Barney."

"The deputy is a religious man, huh? I bet he goes to church every week," Barney said.

"Maybe he does, Barney. I'll have to ask Jeremy about that," I said.

Otis was listening in to the conversation. He thought he could tell Goober about this conversation and tell Goober we were working on a no – witness cold case- something new to spread out.

"Well, Ange, I'm off and running on patrol now. I'll see you in a few minutes," Barney said.

"All right, Barn. Take your time," I said and watched Deputy Fife leave the office.

Otis watched Barney leave.

"Bye, Barney," Otis called after Barney.

"Bye, Otis," Barney said and was out of the office.

"Is this whole thing true you and Barney are working on a no – witness cold case murder, Andy?" Otis asked through the cell.

"Yes, Otis, it is true," I said.

"Wow," Otis said.

That's when Opie came into the office.

"Hi, Pa," Opie said.

"Hi, Op," I said, looking at Opie.

"I thought you were supposed to be at school," I said.

"I'm on lunch hour, Pa," Opie said.

Well, don't stay too long or you'll be late for your next class," I said.

"May I ask you something, Pa?" Opie asked.

"What's that?" I asked.

"The football team has an out-of-state game this weekend. Can you come with us?" Opie asked.

I thought about it.

"I'm sorry, Op, I'm afraid I can't. I have to work on this case Sheriff Cline asked me to help with. What about Johnny Paul's father? Can he go with the team?" I asked.

"He hasn't asked his dad yet. I'll ask him today at practice," Opie said.

"You do that and you let me know," I said and Opie was out of the office.

" "How old is Opie now?" Otis asked.

"He's a sophomore. I'm very proud of him," I said, "plus he has a girlfriend who is a cheerleader."

"A cheerleader? I bet she's hot stuff," Otis said.

"She's pretty, all right," I said.

"Does she bring her pom – poms with her on every date?" Otis asked in giggles.

I heard what Otis asked and gave me a look and said, "No, Otis, she doesn't."

Barney came back just then.

"You weren't gone very long," I said to Barney.

"No, I wasn't. Did I miss something? You said something about she doesn't," Barney said.

"Otis and I were talking about Opie's girlfriend," I said.

"I remember her now," Barney said.

"Is she the tall pretty brunette with the brown eyes on the swimming team?" Barney asked.

"Wrong one, Barney. She's the one with the pom – poms and a couple of inches shorter than Opie," I reminded Barney.

"I don't remember the cheerleader," Barney said.

"You missed Opie a few minutes ago, Barney," Otis told Barney.

"He asked if I could go to the football game that's this week because they're playing out of town," I said.

"I had to tell him no because of the case Sheriff Cline sent.

"I hope it didn't break the teen's heart," Barney said.

"I'm sure he's used to the word no by now," I said.

"I'm sure," Barney said.

"Do you want to go out to the diner for lunch, Ange? I'm hungry," Barney said.

"All right. I guess I could go for a bite. "

That's when the three men heard Barney's stomach growl.

"You do sound hungry, Barney," I said.

"Isn't that why I suggested it?" Barney asked and the sheriff and my deputy left the office and left for the diner.

Ten minutes after Barney and I were out of the office, Goober walked in. He didn't see any sign of Barney and me.

"Hi, Otis. Where are Andy and Barney?" Goober asked.

"They went out to lunch," Otis said.

"No wonder it's so quiet," Goober commented.

"I'm used to it," Otis said.

"Any new news on the cold case?" Goober asked.

"You bet there is," Otis said.

"Tell me. You promised you would keep me up – to – date," Goober said.

"And I did, didn't I?" Otis asked.

"Yes, you did. Maybe this time Andy and Barney will never know," Goober said and the two laughed.

"The thing is that Andy and Barney are working on a no – witness cold case murder," Otis told Goober.

"Say that again. I didn't get it the first time," Goober said.

"I said Andy and Barney are working on a no – witness cold case murder," Otis said a little louder.

"A no – witness cold case murder? I've never heard of those before. Do you think those are new?" Goober asked.

"Don't ask me. I'm no cop," Otis said.

"I think you should get going, Goober. Andy and Barney will be here soon. This is all the news I've got for now," Otis said.

"Okay. Thanks for the update," Goober said, "but I'll be back again."

"No problem," Otis said.

Goober couldn't wait to spread the word out to tell the townspeople about the no – witness cold case murder Barney and I were working on. Before he left, he saw the fat envelope I had left on the desk. Goober thought he'd take a quick peek at it before Andy and Barney got back. Otis had a feeling he should tell Andy about Goober's sneaking a peek at the envelope. Andy wouldn't like this, Otis thought to himself.

Goober saw the pictures Andy was looking of the patrol car on the day Deputy Sheriff Jones died. Goober got a bit scared when he saw the pictures of the patrol car because there was so much blood in the car. Goober closed the file again and was out of the office. That was when Barney and I walked in again.

"We're back, Otis," Barney said.

"Any special visitors while we were away?" Barney asked.

"Goober. He came for me, so you really didn't miss anything," Otis said.

"I do have something to tell you, Andy," Otis said. "Before he left, Goober took a sneak peek at that envelope you left on the desk. The fat one."

"Why would Goober do such a thing? That is confidential," I said.

"I don't know, Andy. I think Goober's been a sneaky guy lately," Barney said.

"Thanks for telling us, Otis," I said.

"We'll talk with him," Barney said.

"I think Goober should know this case file is only for the two of us to see," I said.

"I agree, Ange," Barney said.

That evening at dinner, Opie told me what Johnny Paul told him at school.

"All right, Son. I guess it's all taken care of and Johnny Paul's father will go with the football team. Did you tell him I can't go because of the case I'm working on?" I asked.

"I did, Pa. He said he would tell his father tonight you can't go and he would take your place instead," Opie said.

"See how things work out, Aunt Bee?" I asked.

"I sure do, Andy. I plan to stay behind and so I can cook for you while Opie is away for the weekend," Aunt Bee said.

"Don't you want to go along with Opie and support him?" I asked.

"No, no. You know I show no interest in this kind of thing. Is Cassie coming along?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Cassie has to come, Aunt Bee. She's creating new cheers for the football team this weekend," Opie said, thinking about his girlfriend.

Nine o'clock that evening came. Opie finished his homework early and was tired. He found me in the living room, reading through the fat envelope I brought home with me.

"Good night, Pa. See you in the morning," Opie said.

"Night, Opie. Did you finish your homework?" I asked.

"I did. I finished it early. I'm going to bed now," Opie said, watching me study a few pictures of the bloodied patrol car with a deputy sheriff inside.

"What kind of pictures are those?" Opie asked.

"It's with the case I'm working on, Opie. I don't want you looking at these pictures. I don't want you to have any nightmares," I said.

"All right, Pa," Opie said and headed to his bedroom a second time.

I followed Opie and tucked him into bed and kissed him like I did every night.

"Night, Op. See you in the morning," I said and closed the door behind myself.

Little did I know the pictures I was studying that night were the same pictures Goober was looking at lunchtime that afternoon.

The game Opie had that week didn't start until Saturday afternoon. What Opie didn't know was he was going to meet Sheriff Cline's oldest child, Tony Cline during the game. Opie thought he'd bring some of the pictures with him I had looked at lately to see if he could help me with the crime case. Maybe he could try talking to the kids from the other school and see if they knew anything about the case. Not a bad idea, Opie thought. He wondered how he could get to the fat envelope without my and Barney's knowing about it. That afternoon at the sheriff's office, Barney asked me if I was having any luck with the cold case.

"Nothing yet, Barney," I said.

"Me neither, Ange," Barney said.

"No wonder your sheriff friend couldn't get anything," Barney said.

At one – thirty that afternoon, Aunt Bee walked into the office.

"Hi, Aunt Bee," Barney said.

"Hi, Barney. Andy, I just got a call from the elementary school," Aunt Bee said.

"One of the twin girls had to go to the nurse's office. She had a high fever, so we have to pick her up now," Aunt Bee said.

"Which girl?" I asked, thinking of the twin daughters I adopted from the orphanage a couple of years ago.

"Martha. The nurse asked me to let you know and asked if you could get her," Aunt Bee said.

I'll go in the squad car and pick her up right away. Thanks, Aunt Bee," I said.

"Would you mind staying here for a while?" I asked Barney.

"I won't mind, Ange," Barney said.

"Thanks, Barney," I said and left for the squad car.

Barney couldn't help laughing about the adoption I had done a couple of years ago. He couldn't help it, so he laughed again just now once I left.

"Is that true, Barney? Andy with two twin girls?" Otis asked.

He didn't remember seeing the girls because the girls never came to the office.

"That's right, Otis. I guess you've never seen the girls," Barney said.

Martha and I left the nurse's office.

"I'm sorry you're not feeling so hot, Martha, sweetheart. It's off to bed for you," I said to the five – year – old redhead.

"I feel like I'm gonna throw up," Martha told me.

"We're going to straight home and Aunt Bee will take good care of you until you feel better from that nasty cold," I said, "and you can throw up in the bathroom when we get home."

Once Martha and I parked in the driveway, I opened the backseat for her and helped her out of the backseat since she was feeling weak, I remembered the nurse telling me that.

"I'm gonna barf," Martha said as we hurried into the house.

Back at the sheriff's office, Barney was wondering how Martha and I were doing and he was pacing back and forth around the office.

"How are you feeling, Martha, dear?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Like I'm going to throw up," Martha said.

"I wish I could stay, Aunt Bee, but I have to get back to the office," I said.

"I've got her taken care of, Andy. What did the nurse tell you?" Aunt Bee asked.

"She said it was just a fever of a hundred and four and she has a cold. All she needs is rest," I said.

"Sounds like a high fever, Andy. I'll keep her fever down," Aunt Bee said.

"You always did when you took care of me and Opie," I said.

"I did, and now it's Martha's turn," Aunt Bee said.

"Go back to work," Aunt Bee said as the two of us watched the redhead rush into the bathroom.

"I'll see you tonight, Aunt Bee. When does Opie leave for his out – of – town game?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said, "but he says they play the game Saturday."

"All right. See you tonight," I said and kissed Aunt Bee good – bye and was out of the door.

As I parked the squad car in its regular spot, I saw one of the townspeople come up to me.

"Hi, Andy," I heard a voice say.

I looked up as I took the car keys out of the ignition.

"Hi," I said and got out of the squad car.

"Doing patrol?" the townsperson asked.

"No. I had to take one of my girls home since she got sick from a cold," I said.

"Hope she feels better soon," the townsperson said.

"Thank you," I said.

"I heard you and Barney are working on a no – witness cold case murder," the woman said. "Everybody in town is talking about it."

I didn't say anything but nodded yes that it was true.

"So the rumors are true!" she said.

"Whom did you hear this from?" I asked.

"Goober," she said.

"That doesn't surprise me. He's done this before," I said.

"It was nice talking with you, ma'am. I've got to get in now," I as I opened the office door.

"I thought you'd never get back," Barney said. "How's Martha?"

"She has a fever of a hundred and four and it's just a cold. She'll feel better soon."

"That's good. I was worried at first," Barney said.

"It sounded like it," I said.

Saturday came. The game was at three that afternoon. Opie didn't mind waiting till then to start playing the game. He had detective work to do.

I had the fat envelope with me that weekend to study more of the reports and the pictures. While going through the pictures that Saturday afternoon to make sure I had them all with me, I noticed a few of them were missing.

"Some of these pictures are missing," I said to Aunt Bee.

"I didn't touch that huge envelope, Andy," Aunt Bee said.

"I know you didn't. You know these cases are confidential," I said.

"Of course they are," she said.

"I wonder who could have touched this envelope," I said.

"I have no idea. I know it wasn't Opie because he's out of town," Aunt Bee said.

"You're right," I said, agreeing with Aunt Bee.

Little did I know it was Opie who had taken the pictures. I had no idea that Opie wanted to help me with the case.


	4. Chapter 4

During the game that Saturday, Opie ran into Tony Cline while the Milwaukee high school made a touchdown.

"You Opie Taylor?" Tony Cline asked.

"I am," Opie said.

"I have something you want. Can we talk after the game?" Tony asked.

"Sure," Opie said.

He wondered what this Cline kid wanted to talk to him about, but he had a feeling it was about the cold case Andy was working on.

"What is this you wanted to talk to me about?" Opie asked.

"About the case our fathers are working on, that's what. It's some info your dad might be interested in," Tony said.

During the game that Saturday, Opie ran into Tony Cline while the Milwaukee high school made a touchdown.

"You Opie Taylor?" Tony Cline asked.

"I am," Opie said.

"I have something you want. Can we talk after the game?" Tony asked.

"Sure," Opie said.

He wondered what this Cline kid wanted to talk to him about, but he had a feeling it was about the cold case Andy was working on.

"What is this you wanted to talk to me about?" Opie asked.

"About the case our fathers are working on, that's what. It's some info your dad might be interested in," Tony said.

"Okay. Give it to me when the game is over," Opie said.

"That's what I plan to do. Meet me in the locker room right after all the guys leave," Tony said.

"I will," Opie said.

Back in Mayberry, Barney and I were sitting in the office and talking. I took a look at the clock. It read 2:00 PM.

"I wonder how Opie's doing at the game. It's too bad we don't have it on the radio," I said.

"That's right, Ange. He's out-of-town, right?" Barney asked.

"Right, Barn. The high school is in Milwaukee."

"What are you doing tonight, Barney? Do you and Thelma Lou have anything special planned?" I asked. Barney and Thelma Lou had been married for four years.

"Nothing special, Ange. Tonight is cooking class," Barney sighed. Thelma Lou had signed him up for an hour's worth of cooking class on Thursday nights.

"I didn't know you can cook, Barn," I said, surprised.

"I don't, but Thelma Lou thought I would be more useful around the house, so she signed me up," Barney said.

"That I'd like to see," I said. "How are you doing?"

"Okay, I guess," Barney said.

"Saturday night, Thelma Lou and I have dance class. We're doing the tango this week. Last week was the cha – cha," Barney said, emphasizing the words "cha cha".

"How did you do last week? I didn't know you were interested in dance," I said.

"It was Thelma Lou's idea. Another thing she did was sign me up for art class. That hasn't started yet. It starts in a couple of weeks," Barney told me.

"That Thelma Lou is one clever lady," I said.

"I know. Isn't that why I married her?" Barney asked.

"What's on the menu tonight in cooking class?" I asked.

"Cookies," Barney said.

"Sounds easy. Aunt Bee makes the best cookies in Mayberry," I said.

"I know she does," Barney agreed.

Back In Milwaukee, the game finished at five – thirty. Opie waited until the two teams were dressed and showered and gone so he could talk with Tony Cline. He had already told the Coach he was going to get a ride back to the hotel and the Coach said it was all right he come a bit late. Tony was the first one to arrive. He didn't mind waiting for a while on Opie's arrival. The thing he didn't know was that both of their fathers had grown up together. He didn't seem to care either way. Opie finally showed up. He saw how tall Tony Cline was. He figured Tony Cline was about five feet and eleven inches tall and stood at one hundred and sixty pounds, had blond-haired boy and hazel eyes.

"I heard about you from my pa. He said something about you being my age," Opie said.

"Quit the chitchat so I can give you the info you want. My dad can give you the ride back to the hotel," Tony said.

"All right, Tony. What is the info? I also have questions for you, if you don't mind. It's both our dads' case I want questions on," Opie said.

"All right," Tony said.

"The information first," Opie said, "questions second."

"Sounds fair enough," Tony said.

"What's the info you've got for me?" Opie asked.

"I was a witness at the murder scene twelve years ago when my dad's deputy was killed," Tony said.

"No kidding?" Opie asked, his eyes opening wide.

"No, I'm not kidding, Taylor. I was there when he was killed. I saw it with my own eyes," Tony Cline said.

"Wow. Does your pop know?" Opie asked.

"No way. I can't tell him. If I tell him, he won't let me go anywhere on my own for a long, long time," Tony said in a scared voice.

Opie opened his backpack and got out the crime scene pictures.

"Is this what you saw the morning of June tenth?" Opie asked, showing Tony the picture of the bloodied patrol car.

"Yes, that's what happened, Taylor. I stayed in the bushes the time so the murderers wouldn't know I was there. I stayed there until the crime scene investigators and Dad were gone, which seemed like hours," Tony said.

"Was this a school day?" Opie asked.

"No. It was summertime," Tony said.

"What time was this when your dad's deputy died?" Opie asked.

He had to ask because Andy would never let him look at the case files.

"Right before the crack of dawn," Tony answered.

"That's a bit early to be killed," Opie said.

"Don't you know it, Taylor. He was supposed to be at dinner that night. His handicapped daughter now lives with his mother. My dad still hasn't gotten over the murder," Tony said.

"My dad wouldn't either if his deputy was murdered," Opie said, thinking of Barney.  
"Did you ever get a close look at who killed your dad?" Opie asked.

"I was in the bushes, Taylor. If you don't tell your dad, this will be between the two of us. It was a teenage gang from a different school," Tony said.

"A teenage gang? I have to tell, Tony. I can't stay quiet like you for twelve years. This is information you have to share with the authorities, our dads," Opie said.  
"If I were you, Tony, I'd tell my father about your being the star witness."

"If I do, Taylor, he won't let me go places on my own anymore until I get married. That's why I can't tell!" Tony said, "so I want you to promise me the same thing."

"All right. I promise but I still wish you would tell. I'm ready to go back to the hotel now."

Opie still wished silently Andy was here at the game and his team had lost.

"You know what?" Tony asked as the two-headed for the phone to call his father.

"What?"

"You're not so bad of a quarterback."

"Thanks. You're not a bad player either, Tony. Friends?"

"Friends," Tony said.

Tony dialed his house number and heard his mother, Terry's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi, Mom. I'm ready to be picked up now. Would you mind picking up another player as well? He's from the other team we played today. He needs a ride to the hotel," Tony said to his mother.

"All right, Tony. Either your father or I will be at the school in ten minutes to pick you up. Who is this kid?" Terry asked.

"Opie Taylor. He's Dad's friend's son," Tony said.

"All right. We'll be glad to give him a ride home," Terry Cline said.

"My mom said they would be glad to give you a ride," Tony told Opie.

"Thanks," Opie said.

Terry Cline went to the home office, where her husband, Jeremy was sitting.

"Jeremy, Tony just called. He and another kid are ready to be picked up. Do you mind if I pick them or do you want to?" Terry Cline asked.

"I'm busy now, Terry, sweetheart. Who is with Tony?" Jeremy asked his brunette wife.

"He said it's a kid from the other team. He said it's your friend's son he's with," Terry said.

"You mean Andy's son? How did those two meet?" Jeremy Cline asked.

"How am I supposed to answer that? You can ask Tony yourself," Terry said, finding the question interesting herself.

Terry arrived at the high school and found both boys waiting patiently. Tony got into the front seat of the car and Opie into the backseat.

"Hi, Mom. I'd like you to meet Opie Taylor. He's the quarterback for Mayberry High," Tony said.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Cline," Opie said.

"It's nice to meet you, Opie," Terry said.

Tony gave his mother the name of the hotel Opie and his team were staying at.

"All right, we'll go there now so your coach won't worry too much about you," Terry said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cline. He knew I was going to be gone for a while," Opie said.

Opie saw it wasn't too long of a drive to the hotel. Terry parked into the parking lot at the hotel and stopped the engine.

"Why did you stop the car, Mom?" Tony asked.

"I want to make sure Opie gets in safely, so he won't get in too late," Terry said.

"Do I stay here or come along?" Tony asked.

"Either way," Terry said.

She and Opie were already out of the car. Cassie was worried about Opie because he didn't come back on the bus ride with them to the hotel. She saw the time on the clock and it was nearing ten and she could tell he might get into trouble since it was nearing curfew time.

"I don't want Opie getting yelled at since it's almost curfew time," Cassie said to the other cheerleaders who were in her room.

"That's right. He didn't come back with us," another cheerleader said.

"Hope he doesn't get busted," another one said.

Terry, Tony, and Opie made it to the third floor where his room was. Opie got the key and opened the door. The Coach was already out of his room and saw Tony and Terry at the door.

"You the Mayberry High Coach?" Terry asked.

"Yes, ma'am," the Coach replied.

"I'm returning Opie Taylor," Terry Cline said.

"Thank you. We appreciate it," the Coach said.

"You're welcome. I'm Terry Cline, Tony Cline's mother from the other team," Terry said.

"Thank you for returning Mr. Taylor," the Coach said, "and it's nice meeting you, ma'am."

That same night, Barney went through cooking class just fine. The next day, Barney told me about cooking class.

"I'm glad to hear the cooking class went well, Barn," I said.

"Just wait till Saturday night with the tango, Ange. Do you think Thelma Lou and I can do it well?" Barney asked.

"I don't know," I said.

I knew I'd never seen Barney dance the tango so I didn't know how to answer my deputy's question. Saturday night finally arrived.

"Barney, it's time to go," Thelma Lou said.

"You look really nice in that dress, sweetheart," Barney said.

"Thank you, Barney," Thelma Lou said, taking her husband's compliments.

He liked her long, black sequins and pearl dress with black shoes. He knew they had to dress up each and every time they went to dance class because it was required.

"You promise not to do anything stupid in class tonight?" Thelma Lou asked in the car.

"Why would I do anything stupid?" Barney asked.

"You usually do something stupid and have somebody yell at you, Barney. If you do something stupid tonight, I'm leaving," Thelma Lou said.

She didn't like being embarrassed.

"You don't mean it, do you, Thelma Lou? You're not leaving me, are you?" he asked.

"No. I just don't like getting red in the face," Thelma Lou told him.

"I don't like seeing you red in the face either, Thelma Lou. Looks like we're here already," he said, seeing the place full of cars.

She could see there were tons of cars for that night's tango lesson.

"Wow," Thelma Lou and Barney said at the same time.

They both got out of the car and Barney locked the car and two of them walked into the building.

"Hi, Deputy," Barney heard one of the townspeople say behind him.

They both looked behind themselves.

"Hi," Barney said.

"Aren't you Mrs. Fife?" the same townsperson asked.

"Yes, I am," Thelma Lou said.

"That's a nice wedding ring, Mrs. Fife," the townsperson said.

"Thank you," Thelma Lou said, taking his compliment.

"It's her birthstone," Barney said.

"Beautiful, Deputy. You don't look like a romantic," the townsperson said.

Barney ignored the statement.

"Don't listen to him, Barney. That's not true. You are a romantic," Thelma Lou said.

"I know I am. That guy has to nip it in the bud!" Barney said, sticking his tongue out at the townsperson they were visiting with and ignored him for the rest of the class.

When it was Barney and Thelma Lou's turn to do the tango that night, during their performance, Thelma Lou was doing the performance correctly and Barney had his shoes and socks off. The rest of the class watched the time they were doing the tango. During the ending, Barney slipped to the floor. That's when the class burst into laughter. Thelma Lou's face turned bright red.

Before she could run out of the building and into the car, the teacher yelled, "Fife!"

"Yes, sir?" Barney asked, standing up again and fell a second time.

The class was still laughing.

"Quiet, class," the teacher said in a strict voice.

"That's not the way you dance the tango! Get those shoes and socks back on pronto! You will have to do the dance over again!" the teacher said, not very happy.

"Do you mean we have to do it again tonight?" Barney asked.

"No. Later in the week you will," the teacher warned.

"After class we will set up a set date for this week," the teacher.

Class was finally over for the night. After the other couples left, the teacher talked with Thelma Lou and Barney about coming in to do the tango a second time.

"How about Wednesday at noon?" the teacher asked.

"Lunchtime? I can't make it," Barney said, faking it.

"He's available, sir. He's just faking," Thelma Lou said.

Barney gave her a look.

"Thelma Lou, that's an insult!" he whispered.

She didn't respond and ignored his whisper.

"Then it's settled. See you two at noon," the teacher said and watched them leave the building.

"Thelma Lou, that was an insult!" Barney repeated.

"I don't care, Barney. You know you're available to come in," Thelma Lou said.

"I don't care. Repeat the dance or not, I'm still not coming," Barney said.

Thelma Lou didn't answer Barney. Once they were back at their house, the clock chimed eight o'clock.

"Good – night, Barney. Thank you for doing something embarrassing tonight," Thelma Lou said.

"You're not going to bed this early, are you?" Barney asked.

"I am."

She left without saying good – night or giving him a good – night kiss.

"She didn't give me a good – night kiss like she does every night. I'm telling Ange," Barney said with a frown.

He watched her head to their bedroom and turned on the evening news.

Note: The Cline characters in this story have their own series on my fictionpress account so I hope you enjoy their introductory in this story. Chapter 8 is an entire chapter of the Clines and friends.


	5. Chapter 5

Morning arrived. Barney was at the sheriff's office before I arrived. Barney had noticed that morning Thelma Lou didn't even say good morning to him. He wasn't enjoying the way Thelma Lou was acting to him. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong to her. He knew she was acting a bit harsh on him from the night before. He was sitting on the desk when I walked in a few minutes later.

"Morning, Barn," I said.

There was no greeting from Barney.

"How did it go at the tango lesson last night?" I asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Barney said.

"That bad? You can tell me, Barney. You trust me, you know that," I said.

"I know, Ange, but I don't feel like talking about it now," Barney said.

"Did Opie make it safe and sound from the football game?" Barney asked, trying to change the subject.

"Opie made it safely, Barney. He said they lost the game," I said.

"Ain't that a shame," Barney said.

"I know it's a shame we lost, Barn. Did we get the evidence back yet?" I asked.

"You mean the stolen pictures? No," Barney said.

"I wonder where those darn pictures could have disappeared. I would suggest we look for them today. My guess would be Goober probably took them since he was the last one who looked at them," I said.

"Goober? Why would he do such a thing? He has no brain anyways," Barney said.

"He might not have a brain, Barney, but it's a start to ask him if he took the pictures. Aunt Bee thinks Opie didn't take them because he was out-of-town and I think she was right," I said.

"Aunt Bee could be right, but if you really want to ask Goober, we will," Barney said.

"Well, get a move on, Barney. If we want the crime scene pictures back now, I'd say we should get a move on now and get them back," I said to Barney.

"Now you're talking, Ange. Who's staying here with Otis?" Barney asked.

"I guess I will and take phone calls," I said.

"What? I think this should be the other way around, Ange. This is your case, isn't it? If you want the crime scene pictures back, you look for them. I ain't going out there and looking for them. I'll stay with Otis," Barney said.

"I think you're right, Barney. This is my case. I'll go look. Thank you for reminding me," I said, getting up from his desk chair.

"That's more like it, Ange. Ciao," Barney said and watched me head for the squad car.

"What did you just say? I've never heard you say that before," I said.

"I said ciao, Ange. You know what that means," Barney said.

"I sure do, Barn. I don't know when I'll be back. I'll call if I don't show up within an hour," I said and was out of the office.

"How was your tango lesson last night, Barney?" Otis asked.

"None of your business, Otis. I don't want to talk about it," Barney said.

"Okay. You don't sound very happy this morning. You were a bit rude to Andy," Otis said.

"Maybe I was. It had something to do with Thelma Lou. I'm not ready to talk about last night's tango lesson," Barney said.

"I guess it didn't go well," Otis said.

"No, it didn't, Otis. Isn't that why I told Andy to drop it?" Barney asked.

"Now I'm telling you to drop it, Otis," Barney said rudely.

Andy made it to the filling station. He found Goober.

"Hi, Goob," Andy said.

"Hi, Andy. Did you come to get your gas tank filled?" Goober asked.

"No, I didn't, Goober. The gas tank is fine. I don't need gas. I came to talk to you about something," I said.

"About what?" Goober asked.

"About the crime scene pictures," I said.

"What about them?" Goober asked.

"Somebody came into my office last week and stole the evidence, Goober. Nobody touches the crime scene pictures but me and Barney. We heard you were the last one on Friday afternoon at lunchtime in the office. Is that true you looked at the pictures? Only a few of them were stolen," I said.

"I didn't steal any pictures, Andy. I'm telling the truth. How many pictures were stolen?" Goober asked.

"About three to five," I said.

"You didn't answer my question, Goober. Did you or did you not look at the crime scene pictures with the bloodied patrol car with the murdered deputy inside?" I asked.

"I did, Andy. I wondered what was inside that fat envelope on your desk so I took a quick peek. I got scared and ran out of the office as fast as I could and came back here," Goober said.

"Did you touch the crime scene pictures when you looked at them?" I asked.

"I swear I didn't, Andy. You've got to trust me," Goober said.

He had an innocent look on his face. I could see the innocent look Goober had on his face. I could tell Goober was telling the truth.

"I guess I could trust you, Goober. I had to ask. You don't touch the envelope without the law's permission. This case came out-of-state. Do you promise not to do this again?" I asked.

"I promise, Andy. I promise," Goober said.

"Are you mad, Andy? You sound a bit angry," Goober said.

"I'm not mad, Goober. I am trying to get the evidence back," I said.

"If it wasn't me who took the pictures, who did?" Goober asked.

"That's what I'm trying to find out now. Otis didn't do it because he's locked in the cell," I said.

"Thanks for telling me you looked at the pictures and didn't touch them, Goob. I'll go around town and see what I can find about the stolen crime scene pictures," I said.

"Hey, Andy," Goober said as Andy headed for the squad car.

I turned around.

"Yes, Goob?"

"Good luck on getting the evidence back."

"Thanks, Goob. I'm sure we will," I said, getting into the driver's seat and drove away from the filling station.

Twenty minutes passed. Barney paced back and forth and waited for me to call. He remembered to see if I would call in an hour like I had promised.

"Andy still ain't back, is he?" Otis asked.

"No," Barney said.

Just then, the door of the sheriff's office opened. It caught Otis and Barney's attention.

"Hi, Barney," Opie said.

"Hi, Op. Your pa tells me you lost the game against Milwaukee," Barney said.

"We did. Where did Pa go?" Opie asked.

"He's in town. He wanted to search for the evidence pictures to see who took them from the fat envelope," Barney said.

That's when Opie felt sick to his stomach.

"Tell Pa I wanted to talk to him about the case," Opie said.

"All right, Op. Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Barney asked.

"This is my free period, Barney. Don't you remember?" Opie asked.

"I forgot about that," Barney asked.

Aunt Bee walked into the office just then.

"Hi, Barney," Aunt Bee said.

"Hi, Aunt Bee," Opie said.

"Hi, Opie. Opie! Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Aunt Bee said in a surprised voice.

"This is my off period, Aunt Bee. Don't you have my schedule at home?" Opie asked his aunt.

"I forgot," she said.

"That's okay, Aunt Bee. I only came to talk to Pa," Opie said.

"Barney, will you tell Andy I took Martha to the hospital? Her fever shot up a bit higher than it did at the school," Aunt Bee said.

"I will, Aunt Bee," Barney said.

Aunt Bee looked at Opie.

"You look like you don't feel good, Opie. Do you need to go home and lie down?" Aunt Bee asked.

"I'm fine, Aunt Bee," Opie reassured her.

"Are you sure? You look a bit green," Aunt Bee told him.

"I'm fine," he told her.

"Are you sure, Opie?" Aunt Bee asked as she went over to Opie and felt his forehead.

"You feel normal," Aunt Bee said.

"If I were you, Op, I'd run off back to class," Barney said.

"I guess I will. Tell Pa I want to talk to him about the case," Opie said.

"Will do," Barney said.

That's when he and Aunt Bee were out of the sheriff's office. Opie went to his car and drove to the high school. He was back in time before the bell rang for the next class. I came back to the sheriff's office.

"Andy, both Aunt Bee and Opie were here for you," Barney said.

"Opie? Wasn't he supposed to be in class?" I asked.

"Aunt Bee and I asked him the same thing and he said he had a free period," Barney said.

"Why do we keep forgetting that?" I said.

"Good question. How did it go with Goober?" Barney asked.

"Before I tell you, tell me what Opie and Aunt Bee came in for," I said.

"Okay, Andy. Opie said he wanted to talk to you about the case, but I don't know why he knows what he knows we don't. Aunt Bee came in to let you know she took Martha into the hospital because her fever was higher than it was at the school," Barney said.

"Martha's in the hospital? I don't understand why she keeps getting sick all the time," I said.

"I don't either. Did it have something to do with the orphanage?" Barney asked.

"Who knows?" I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Now tell me about Goober. Did he or did he not steal the crime scene pictures?" Barney asked.

"No, it wasn't Goober," I said.

"If it wasn't Goober, then who was it?" Barney asked.

"That's what I'd like to know. Whoever it was, I'm sure we'll get the crime scene pictures back," I said.

"We better or your sheriff friend will get mad at you," Barney said.

"I'm sure he wouldn't like to hear the pictures were stolen. I'm not going to tell Jeremy, Barney," I said.

"If I were you, I sure wouldn't," Barney said.

Opie came home for supper that night after football practice.

"Barney told me you were in the office during school hours, Op," I said at supper that night.

My other adopted girl, Laura, was listening in on the conversation. She didn't bother getting into the conversation so she stayed quiet.

"Where's Martha?" Laura asked.

"She had to go to the hospital," Aunt Bee told her.

Laura didn't like what she heard because she knew she wouldn't have anybody to play with.

"I was, Pa. I had to come in and talk to you about the case," Opie said.

"What do you know about the cold case, Op? This case is confidential," I said.

"We have about three to five pictures stolen. We're looking for the stolen pictures," I told Opie.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you, Pa. I have some information for you that you might want," Opie said.

"Go on. I'm listening," I said, all ears.

At the Fife residence, Barney and Thelma Lou were eating outside in the backyard. She still wasn't speaking to him.

"Come on, Thelma Lou, you have to talk to me sometime. That was last night when I messed up the dance," Barney said.

Thelma Lou finally spoke up.

"And we had to come in again today at lunch to make up for it, Barney. Don't you know anything about ballroom dancing and getting it right?" Thelma Lou asked.

"We got the cha – cha right, didn't we?" Barney asked.

"We did, Barney. Why couldn't you get the tango right? If you only kept your shoes and socks on, we would have gotten the dance right!" Thelma Lou said, still not very happy about coming in and making up for the dance the next day.

"Subject closed," Thelma Lou said and chewed the fried chicken she made for supper that night's meal.

"I can see you're still upset about the tango last night, Thelma Lou. Don't you want to hear how sorry I am?" Barney asked.

"Not yet," Thelma Lou said, after she finished chewing her last bite of fried chicken.

She got up from the porch swing and went into the house and left Barney outside all alone.

"Come on, Thelma Lou," he said, not very happy.

Barney felt sick to his stomach because he thought this was going to be the end of this marriage. He got up from the swing and brought in his plate into the house after finishing the last of his milk.

"Thank you for dinner, Thelma Lou," Barney said.

There was no response from her. He washed his plate and glass and told Thelma Lou he was going to Andy's for a while. She nodded her head okay. Barney found his car keys and drove to the Taylor residence.

"Pa, the reason I was the one who took the crime scene pictures with me to Milwaukee because I thought I would help you on the case. I did get a bit of information from the other school about the case," Opie said.

I didn't like what I was hearing.

"Where are those darn pictures?" I asked my son.

"Laura, you may leave the table. I don't want you to hear this," I said to the five – year – old.

So she left the table. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Aunt Bee answered it.

"Barney, I'm afraid Andy won't be able to speak with you. He's busy with Opie now," Aunt Bee said.

"What's going on, Aunt Bee? Would Andy need my help with Op?" Barney asked.

"No, but thank you for offering, Barney. You're welcome to stay, but this is family business," Aunt Bee said.

"I'm not wanted at my house," Barney told Aunt Bee.

"You can talk to me about it if you want," Aunt Bee said.

"Thanks, but this is between me and Andy," Barney said.

Aunt Bee knew what he meant.

"I see, but you'll have to talk to Andy about this tomorrow, then. He's dealing with Opie," Aunt Bee said.

"I guess I'll go back home then, since I'm not wanted," Barney said sadly.

That's when he and Aunt Bee both heard shouting upstairs from Opie's room from me.

"Opie Taylor, you're grounded!" both Aunt Bee and Barney heard from the front door.

"From what, Pa?" Opie asked.

"Since you're the one who stole the crime scene pictures, you're grounded from dating, driving, and all the other things you can't do, like fishing. You also can't talk on the telephone with your friends," I went on with the punishment angrily.

"Pa, I need to be with Cassie. You can't take her away from me," Opie said.

"Yes, I can. Also, while you're grounded, you're going to eat your meals in your room. You can't eat at the table with your family. The only time you can leave your room is when you need to use the washroom and when you're going to school. The rest of the time you're here. Give me your license," I said in the same angry voice.

"Where is your license?" I asked.

"Right here, Pa," Opie said, taking his wallet out of his pocket.

"I need my license, Pa. I need to drive," Opie said.

"Not when you're punished, you don't. While you're punished, I will do the driving," I said angrily.

"Pa, won't you give me a chance on telling you what information I have on your case?" Opie asked.

"Not now. You're given your punishment. After your punishment I will listen to your information on this case," I said in the same tone of voice.

"Come on, Pa. I did this for you. I'm sure you might find this information very useful," Opie told Andy.

"I told you I don't want to hear your information now. Once you're unpunished, you will be able to tell me," I said angrily.

"Another thing you won't be able to do during your punishment is playing football for the high school. You will tell the coach tomorrow at school you won't be able to play quarterback for a long, long time," I said, still angry.

"How long, Pa? What will I tell the Coach?" Opie asked.

"I haven't thought about it yet. I will let you know in the morning," I said.

"For now, this is your punishment. Before I leave, I want those pictures back. That means now," I said angrily.

I waited for Opie to hand over the evidence. Opie opened his backpack and gave me the pictures he took from the office.

"Here, Pa."

"You promise you won't steal evidence from a murder case again?" I asked.

"I promise, Pa," Opie said.

"You should remember that this case came from Milwaukee and these cases are confidential, Opie. This doesn't make me happy when I find out a few pictures are stolen and when I want to look at them," I said.

"I know," Opie said.

"Another thing I'm going to add to your punishment is you can't go to church with the family. I haven't figured out how long you'll be punished yet," I said as I took the pictures from Opie and shut the door behind myself.

I came downstairs and found Aunt Bee standing by the front door.

"Barney was just by, Andy," she said.

"I don't have time to deal with Barney now, Aunt Bee. I have to worry about Opie," I said angrily.

"Barney and I heard you shouting," Aunt Bee said.

"I wasn't shouting," I said.

"It sounded like it," she said.

"I said I wasn't, Aunt Bee. Can we forget about it?" I asked.

"Barney said he wanted to talk to you about Thelma Lou," Aunt Bee said.

"I don't have time for Barney now, Aunt Bee. Case closed," I said and went outside.

The next day, which was Friday, I went into the sheriff's office.

"Morning, Ange," Barney said.

He wanted to pretend he didn't know about the other night.

"Morning, Barney," I said.

He still wasn't happy about grounding Opie the other night.

"You don't sound very happy this morning, Ange," Barney said.

"You know I ain't," I said.

"Do you want to talk to me about what happened?" Barney asked.

"No," I said.

"It would help if you did," Barney said.

"I already told you I don't want to talk about it," I told Barney.

"Okay. If you don't want to talk about it, we'll drop it," Barney said.

He really did want to know why he had heard Andy shouting at Opie upstairs the other night.

"Are you sure?" Barney asked a second time.

"Yes, I'm sure," I said.

"Okay," Barney said.

"Aunt Bee told me you were at the house last night," I told Barney.

"I was. I wanted to talk to you about something and she said you were in the middle of family business," Barney said.

"I was. What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.

"Thelma Lou," Barney said.

"What is Thelma Lou doing that you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Remember we danced the tango the other night?" Barney asked.

"Yes. Does that have something to do with dancing the tango?" I asked.

"Well, if you put it that way, yes," Barney said.

"Did Thelma Lou get angry at you during the dance?" I asked.

"She did, Ange. Now she won't speak to me," Barney said.

"How can I get her to speak to me again?" Barney asked.

Barney and I talked about it for a while.

"Thanks, Ange. I'll see if it will work," Barney said after their talk fifteen minutes later.

"I hope it will, Barn," I said.

"Maybe I will buy her candy and flowers like you suggested. I hope it works. Thanks for the suggestion. I hope she will speak to me after I buy her the chocolates and flowers," Barney said.

"That usually works after making up from a fight," I said.

"I sure hope Thelma Lou will start talking to me again. I'll let you know if it did or not," Barney said.

"Trust me, Barney. It usually does work," I said.

"I trust you, Ange," Barney said.

"You know what, Ange?" Barney asked.

"What's that?"

"I would have never thought of buying Thelma Lou candy and flowers to make up for messing up the tango. She was the one who got mad. I didn't," Barney said.

"You know how women are," I said.

"I know," he said.

Note: Chapter 7 and 6 have the Pastor Tucker character from 'Sermon for Today' episode.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that day, I headed to the church where Opie, Barney, Aunt Bee and I go to each Sunday. I found Pastor Tucker in his office.

"Hi, Andy. What brings you here on a Friday?" Pastor Tucker asked, surprised.

He knew he wasn't expecting me on a Friday afternoon at lunch.

"Well, Pastor Tucker, I came to talk to you about Opie," I said.

"You know you can talk to me anytime, Andy. What's the trouble?" Pastor Tucker asked.

"Won't you sit down?" Pastor Tucker asked.

"Thank you," I said as Pastor Tucker shut the door behind myself.

As soon as I sat down across from Pastor Tucker in the office, Pastor Tucker waited for me to begin.

"Take all the time you need, Andy," Pastor Tucker said.

I waited a few more minutes to tell Pastor Tucker about me punishing Opie. I wondered where to begin. Pastor Tucker knew Andy would take his time, so he would give me all the time I needed. I was finally ready.

"Pastor Tucker, if you didn't hear the gossip from town lately, Barney and I are working on a twelve – year – old cold case murder. I had to take the case because an old friend of mine from Milwaukee asked me to help him, so I said I would help. Last week, Opie went to an out-of-town football game and he stole three to five crime scene pictures I wanted to look at and I couldn't find them.

"When he came home from the game, he told me at supper he had some information I would need for the case and I found out that he was the one who stole the evidence. I wasn't very happy with what Opie had done with the case. We want to his bedroom and I grounded him for a long, long time," I said as I ended my story.

"That does sound like you have a problem on your hands, Andy," Pastor Tucker said as he heard the ending of my story.

"I grounded him and told him he couldn't attend church on Sundays with the family," I said.

"That is where you're wrong, Andy. He has to attend. You can never punish a teenager or child from church," Pastor Tucker said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Opie needs to be at church while he's punished, Andy. Haven't you read about the law in God's Word?" Pastor Tucker asked.

"I guess I have, but it's been a while," I replied.

"Read for yourself, Andy. Tell Opie to come in after school and I will deal with him. I will see him every day after school," Pastor Tucker said.

"Sounds fair," I said, liking our agreement.

"This is what I'm going have Opie do since you punished him, Andy. I'm going to have him read to me from God's Word about stealing and punishment every day he comes here," Pastor Tucker said.

"I like the idea. That will tell him how he feels about stealing evidence from a murder case," I said.

"Right, Andy. He comes to me starting Monday," Pastor Tucker said.

"Tell Opie I'll be praying for him," Pastor Tucker said as the two men stood up and Pastor Tucker opened his office door for me.

"Stealing is a crime, Andy," Pastor Tucker said.

"True, Pastor Tucker. What should I do about Opie?" I asked.

"Bring him here and I will do something about it," Pastor Tucker said.

"I will," I said and thanked Pastor Tucker as I left the church.

Andy went back to the jail and found Barney on the telephone. Barney didn't see me come in.

"Was the call urgent?" I asked.

"The call? Yeah, Ange. Your friend, Sheriff Cline called. He wants you to call him back," Barney come back. Once Barney was off the phone, he found me in the office.

"Hi, Ange. I was wondering when you'd come back," Barney said.

"Jeremy called? I'll call him back. Thanks for telling me," I said.

"Where did you go?" Barney asked.

"The church," I said.

"What for?" Barney asked.

"I was talking to Pastor Tucker about Opie," I said.

"What did he say about Opie?" Barney asked.

"I'm sure you remember you heard about Opie being grounded the other day," I said.

"I heard, Ange. I was there when you grounded Op. That's what I was doing your house because I wanted to talk to you about Thelma Lou. What is Pastor Tucker going to do with Op?" Barney asked.

"He's going to have Opie read to him from the Bible about stealing and punishment," I told Barney.

"That ain't a bad idea, Ange. Maybe Opie would learn something by doing that," Barney said.

"I hope it works out fine if Opie does this. Pastor says this starts Monday next week," I said.

"Good luck to Op," Barney said.

"Tell him that yourself. I'm thinking of grounding Opie for the rest of the school year," I said.

"The rest of the school year? That's a long time, Ange," Barney said.

"You know it, but I want to show Opie stealing evidence from a murder case ain't right," I said.

"Good point," Barney said.

I got on the phone.

"Sara, give me Sheriff Cline at the Milwaukee Sheriff's Department," I said.

I heard the phone ring a few times before hearing Sheriff Cline's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi, Sheriff. Sheriff Taylor," I said once I heard Jeremy Cline on the other end.

"Hi, Andy," Jeremy said.

"My deputy told me you called when I was out," I said.

"I did. I wanted to see how far you were on my deputy's murder," Jeremy said.

"I'm still working on it, Jeremy. I heard our boys met," I said.

"So I heard. My wife drove your boy back to the hotel after the football game was over. I was busy and couldn't drive your son back, so she offered to drive him back," Jeremy said.

"That was nice of your wife to do that. Did Opie thank her?" I asked.

"I'm sure he did, but I didn't come along on the ride, Andy. Tell me what you've got on the case so far," Jeremy said.

"There ain't much to tell, Jeremy. A lot had happened since you sent me the evidence by mail," I said.

"Well, tell me, Andy. I need to know," Jeremy Cline said.

"Are you sure you want to hear this, Jeremy? If you are, I don't think you'd want to hear this," I said.

"I need to know, Andy. This is my deputy's case," Jeremy said.

"I understand that, Jeremy. I don't think this is something you'd want to hear. My boy Opie was involved while he was in Milwaukee," I said.

"Well, tell me, Andy. I need to know what happened," Jeremy said.

"All right, if you insist," I said, sighing.

I really didn't want to tell Jeremy Cline about the evidence being stolen from Opie and about one of the townsfolk (Goober) looking at the crime scene pictures of Andy Jones but not touching the pictures and running out of the office.

"Well, Jeremy, it's like this. After you sent me the evidence by mail-"

I was a loss at words and didn't want to tell Jeremy Cline about Opie stealing the evidence. I knew Jeremy wouldn't like hearing it.

"I'm waiting, Andy. I want to hear what you found on the case," Jeremy said.

I looked at Barney for words. All Barney could do was shrug his shoulders.

"Could you hold for a few minutes, Jeremy?" I asked.

"Sure, Andy," he said.

I put the phone down so Jeremy would be out of mute.

"Barn, what are we going to do? Jeremy wants to know what we picked up on the case of the murdered deputy. I can't tell him about Goob and Op. He'll be hurt," I told Barney.

"Don't look at me. You were the one who said yes to this case, not me, Ange. I ain't telling this officer of law about this latest news," Barney said.

"You're right, Barn. You ain't and I am. I'd hate to tell Jeremy. You know I hate hurting people with news like this," I said.

That's when we both heard Aunt Bee walk into the office. I got back on to the telephone.

"Hi, Aunt Bee. What can we do for you?" Barney asked.

"Hi, Barney. Whom is Andy talking to?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Sheriff Cline. Andy don't want to talk to him about some news and he thinks it will hurt the sheriff," Barney told Aunt Bee.

"What will hurt Jeremy?" Aunt Bee asked.

"This case Andy took on, Aunt Bee. What made you come in?" Barney asked.

"It's about Opie," Aunt Bee said.

"I see. He ain't my problem," Barney said.

"I know he's not," Aunt Bee said.

Both Aunt Bee and Barney listened to my call with Sheriff Cline.

"Like I said earlier, Jeremy, my boy Opie was involved in the case out in Milwaukee while he was playing against your boy during the game. When he came back here to Mayberry, I had to punish Opie for what he did," Aunt Bee and Barney heard me say.

"What did your son do wrong that involved my deputy's murder?" Jeremy asked.

"He stole the evidence you sent me by mail and he took it with him to Milwaukee and talked to your boy about it. When he came back here to Mayberry, he told me he was the one who stole the evidence from me when I wanted to look at it and I punished him for it. Has your boy told you about this?" I asked.

"I haven't heard anything, Andy, but thank you for letting me know. I'll try talking with Tony and see what I can get out of that boy of mine," Jeremy Cline said.

We were off the phone.

"Aunt Bee, what brings you here?" I said after putting the phone back in its place.

"Andy, I talked with Opie at lunchtime today. He didn't come home because of his punishment from the car. He wanted to let you know he talked to the coach," Aunt Bee said.

"How did it go with the coach?" I asked.

"He says the coach isn't very happy with you taking him off the team, Andy. He still wants Opie on the team this weekend," Aunt Bee said.

"No can do, Aunt Bee. He ain't playing for the rest of the school year. He is punished for the rest of the school year. That's what I've decided on," I said.

"All right. Don't forget to pick Opie up," Aunt Bee said.

"I haven't forgotten," I said as the two of us watched Aunt Bee leave the office.

Barney and I worked more on the cold case until I had to pick Opie up at three that Friday afternoon from school.

"See you Sunday, Ange," Barney said.

"All right, Barney," said as I left the office for the weekend.

I drove off to Mayberry High and waited for Opie to show up. I saw Opie with Cassie, his girlfriend a few minutes later. I watched the two of them.

"Can we go out tonight, Opie?" I heard Cassie ask.

"I can't, Cassie. I'm grounded," Opie said.

"From what?" she asked.

"Pa grounded me. I wish we could go out tonight but Pa said I'm grounded because of what happened over the weekend. I stole some evidence from a case he's working on. Do you need a ride home? Pa's taking me home," Opie said.

"Thanks, Opie, but today's cheerleading practice, remember? Don't you want to stay and watch?" Cassie asked.

"I can't. I have to go straight home because I'm grounded," Opie told her.

"Bye, Cassie," Opie said as the two gave each other a quick kiss.

"Bye, Opie. I'll call you tonight," she said.

"I wish we could talk, Cassie, but I can't. Pa grounded me from the phone," Opie said.

"Sorry to hear that. I'll miss our conversations," she said. "Me, too, Cassie. I'll see you Monday," Opie said.

Cassie watched Opie head to the squad car.

"Hi, Pa," Opie said.

"Hi, Opie," I said.

I drove away from the high school.

"Opie, there's something I want to talk to you about," I said.

"What's that?" Opie asked.

"Your punishment," I said.

"What about it? Am I unpunished?" he asked.

"No," I said.

"What do you have to say about it?" Opie asked.

"I have decided how long you will be punished, Opie," I said.

"How long?" Opie asked.

"The rest of the school year," I said.

"That long? I can't be punished that long, Pa. That sounds like forever," Opie said.

"That's what I've decided and I'm sticking with it, Opie. I talked with Pastor Tucker today and he said he would be seeing you after school Monday. We agreed it would be a part of your punishment," I said.

"What did Pastor Tucker say?" Opie asked.

"He said part of your punishment is going to church directly after school and you two will talk about your being punished. He said he's going to have you read from God's Word about stealing and punishment. I hope you learn something," I said.

There was no word from Opie. That night at supper, I told Aunt Bee about my visit with Pastor Tucker.

"How in the world did he come up with that idea, Andy? That is very clever," Aunt Bee said.

"I have no idea, Aunt Bee, but I sure do like the idea," I said.

"He's not going to preach this," I told Aunt Bee.

"The way you said it, that sounds like this isn't a sermon," Aunt Bee said.

"I guess he wants to teach Op a lesson," I said.

"Guess so," Aunt Bee said.


	7. Chapter 7

Monday afternoon arrived quickly and Opie was finally at the church with Pastor Tucker.

"Okay, Opie, I'd like to you to read to me from Exodus, chapter twenty, verse fifteen," Pastor Tucker said.

"Do I have to? It's only one sentence. That's easy," Opie said.

"What does it say?" Pastor Tucker asked.

Opie sighed and read it.

"I meant out loud, Opie," Pastor Tucker said.

"It says no stealing," Opie said.

"You did steal, didn't you?" Pastor Tucker asked.

"I did. I didn't mean to," Opie said.

"You did disobey the Lord, Opie. God doesn't like it when we disobey the Father in Heaven," Pastor Tucker said.

"This is different, Pastor. I had to do it because I wanted to help Pa with his case," Opie said.

"Okay, Opie. I'd like you to continue reading to me out loud what Exodus chapter twenty – two verse one says," Pastor Tucker said.

Opie sighed a second time and saw the Scripture was talking about animals and not about his stealing evidence from a murder case.

"If someone steals an ox or a lamb and slaughters or sells it, the thief must pay five cattle in place of the ox and four sheep in place of the lamb. If the thief is caught while breaking in and is hit hard and dies, there is no bloodguilt. But if it happens after daybreak, there is bloodguilt," Opie read.

"Very good, Opie. How about Exodus chapter twenty – two, verse four," Pastor Tucker said.

"A thief must make full restitution for what is stolen. The thief who is unable to pay is to be sold for his thieving. If caught red – handed with the stolen goods, and the ox or donkey or lamb is still alive, the thief pays double," Opie read out loud.

"Now read to me from Exodus, chapter twenty – two, verse seven," Pastor Tucker said.

"If someone gives a neighbor money or things for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor's home, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. If the thief is not caught, the owner must be brought before God to decide whether the owner was the one who took the neighbor's good," Opie continued.

"Now read from chapter twenty – two, verse eight," Pastor Tucker said.

"I read both," Opie said.

"Right. I forgot those were together," Pastor Tucker said.

"How about chapter twenty – two, verse nine," Pastor Tucker said.

"In all cases of stolen goods, whether the owner was the one who took the neighbor's goods, whether oxen, donkey, sheep, clothing, anything in fact missing of which someone says, 'That's mine,' both parties must come before the judges. The one the judges pronounce guilty must pay double to the other," Opie read.

"Very well, Opie. How about chapter twenty – two, verse ten," Pastor Tucker said.

"If someone gives a donkey or oxen or lamb or any kind of animal to another for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or lost and there is no witness, an oath before GOD must be made between them to decide whether one has laid hands assessed. But if it turns out it was stolen, the owner must be compensated. If it has been torn by wild beasts, the torn animal must be brought in as evidence; no damages have to be paid," Opie read on.

"How about chapter twenty – two, verse fourteen," Pastor Tucker said.

Opie sighed again and continued.

"If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it gets injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must pay for it. But if the owner was with it, he doesn't have to pay. If the animal was hired, the payment covers the loss," Opie said and shut the book.

"We're not finished yet, young man," Pastor Tucker said.

"We ain't?" Opie asked.

"No. Not for the day, we're not," Pastor Tucker said.

They were interrupted by a guest in the room.

"You Pastor Tucker?" a man asked.

"I am," Pastor Tucker said.

"I was told to come to you today," the man said.

"You were, huh? What kind of trouble do you have? I am busy with this young man now, but if you don't mind waiting, we will go into my office," Pastor Tucker said.

"I don't mind waiting," the man said.

"Wait here, Opie," Pastor Tucker said.

"Okay," Opie said and watched the minister leave him for a couple of seconds.

"If you don't mind waiting here in my office, sir, I am busy with the young man you saw. He's in trouble, so I have to deal with him," Pastor Tucker said.

"What did he do wrong?" the man asked.

"He stole evidence from a murder case his father is working on," Pastor Tucker said.

"That's not right," the man said.

"No, it's not. I'll see you in a few minutes," Pastor Tucker said and shut his office door behind himself and went back to where he left Opie.

"Sorry, Opie," Pastor Tucker said.

"That's okay," Opie said.

He didn't mind the wait.

"Okay, Opie, chapter twenty – two, verse fifteen," Pastor Tucker said.

"I already read that," Opie said.

"I did it again, didn't I?" Pastor Tucker asked.

"Yes, you did," Opie said.

"Sorry. I guess we are done for the day. I will see you again tomorrow, same time, same place," Pastor Tucker said.

Opie took his backpack and waited outside for me to pick him up. I came a few minutes later in the squad car.

"Hi, Son. How did it go with Pastor Tucker?" I asked as Opie got into the passenger's seat of the squad car.

"Boring, Pa. I don't want to do this anymore," Opie said.

"Well, Op, it's part of your punishment. Maybe you'll learn something. You did disobey the Lord," I said.

I drove Opie home and headed back to the office. It was now Tuesday and Opie was back at the church for that day's Scripture reading.

"Okay, Opie, you're going to be reading from Leviticus, chapter five, verse nineteen," Pastor Tucker said.

"Thus the priest will make atonement for him for his error that he was unaware of and he's forgiven. It is a Compensation-Offering; he was surely guilty before God," Opie read out loud.

"How about chapter six, verses one through six," Pastor Tucker said.

Opie sighed for the first time that day and began, "God spoke to Moses: "When anyone sins by betraying trust with GOD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him, or by robbing or cheating for threatening him; or if he has found something lost and lies about it and swears falsely about any of these sins that people commonly commit – when he sins and is found guilty, he must return what he found, or anything else about which he swore falsely. He must make full same day he brings his Compensation-Offering. He must present to GOD as his Compensation-Offering a ram without any defect from the flock, assessed at the value of a Compensation-Offering."

"How about chapter six, verse seven," Pastor Tucker said.

"Thus the priest will make the atonement for him before GOD and he's forgiven of any of the things that one does that bring guilt," Opie read.

"How about chapter nineteen, verse eleven," Pastor Tucker said.

"That's easy," Opie said, "plus it's one sentence."

"What does it say?" Pastor Tucker asked Opie.

"Don't steal," Opie read out loud.

"And that's what you did, right?" Pastor Tucker asked.

"I didn't steal. I was helping Pa with his case," Opie said.

"You did steal, Opie. Stealing is against God's Word," Pastor Tucker said.

"Would you continue, Opie? Read chapter nineteen, verse thirty – four," Pastor Tucker said.

Opie sighed again that afternoon and continued, "When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don't take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God."

"Very well, Opie. Now read to me from chapter twenty – four, verse twenty – two," Pastor Tucker said.

"Anyone who hits and kills an animal must make it good, but whoever hits and kills a fellow human, will be put to death. And no double standards: the same rule goes for foreigners and natives. I am GOD, your God."

"Good, Opie. You did well today. I will see you again tomorrow," Pastor Tucker said and then Opie left to wait for Andy's squad car outside of the church.

"Hi, Op," Andy said as Opie got into the front seat of the squad car that afternoon.

"Hi, Pa. This Scripture thing is getting boring by the day," Opie said.

"Now, Op, don't you complain. This is part of your punishment. It'll be over before you know it," I said as we reached their house and Opie grabbed his backpack and I went back to the jail.

The next afternoon at the church, Pastor Tucker told Opie,

"Today we're going to read from Deuteronomy."

"This is going fast," Opie said.

Pastor Tucker didn't say anything.

"I want you to read chapter five, verse nineteen," Pastor Tucker said.

"That's another one sentence," Opie pointed out.

"Well, read it," Pastor Tucker said.

"No stealing," Opie read.

"Very good. Now read chapter twenty – two, verses one through three," Pastor Tucker said.

"If you see your kinsman's ox or sheep wandering off loose, don't look the other way as if you didn't see it. Return it promptly. If your fellow Israelite is not close by or you don't know whose it is, take the animal home with you and take care of it until your fellow asks about it. Then return it to him. Do the same if it's his donkey or a piece of clothing or anything else your fellow Israelite loses. Don't look the other way as if you didn't see it," Opie read out loud.

"Very well. Now read chapter twenty – two, verse four," Pastor Tucker said.

"If you see your fellow's donkey or ox injured along the road, don't look the other way. Help him get it up and on its way," Opie read.

"Now read chapter twenty – five, verses thirteen through sixteen," Pastor Tucker told Opie.

"Don't carry around with you two weights, one heavy and the other light, and don't keep two measures at hand, one large and the other small. Use only one weight, a true and honest weight, and one measure, a true and honest measure, so that you will live a long time on the land that GOD, your God, is giving you. Dishonest weights and measures are an abomination to GOD, your God – all this corruption in business deals!," Opie read.

"Our meeting today is over, Opie. I will see you again tomorrow," Pastor Tucker said.

Opie watched Pastor Tucker leave as he grabbed his backpack and waited for Andy and the squad car outside. He sure didn't enjoy this punishment!

At Mayberry High that afternoon, he ate with his girlfriend, Cassie in the lunchroom.

"Hi, Opie. We haven't talked for a long time," Cassie said as she joined him with her lunch.

"I know," he said and sighed.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Cassie asked.

"No, you didn't, Cassie. I'd love to do something with you too, but my pa grounded me for the rest of the school year. I can't get my car and driving license till then," Opie said.

"That's not fair," Cassie said.

"I know it ain't," Opie said.

"Tell your pa to hurry up with the punishment so we can do something," Cassie said.

"It don't work that way, Cassie. I've been at the church this past week. Pa and the minister thought it was fair it was part of the punishment, so I had to do it," Opie told her.

"What do you have to do at the church?" Cassie asked.

"Read scriptures about stealing to the minister. It ain't fun," Opie told her.

"I'm sure it isn't," Cassie said.

The rest of the school afternoon went by fast. Opie was at the church again with Pastor Tucker.

"Today we're reading from Psalm," Tucker told Opie.

"Wow," Opie said.

He couldn't believe how fast this was going.

"You're going to read to me from Psalm, chapter one hundred nineteen, verse thirty – three through forty," Tucker said.

Opie opened the book and began to read.

"GOD, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me – my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments. I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for pilling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Affirm your promises to me – promises made to all who fear you. Deflect the harsh words of my critics – See how hungry I am for your counsel; keep my life through your righteous ways!," Opie read.

"Now read chapter one hundred nineteen, verses eighty – one through eighty – eighty eight," Tucker said.

"I'm homesick – longing for your salvation; I'm waiting for your word of hope. My eyes grow heavy watching for some sign of your promise, how long must I wait for your comfort? There's smoke in my eyes – they burn and water, but I keep a steady gaze on the instructions you post. How long do I have to put up with all this? How long till you haul my tormentors into court? The arrogant godless try to throw me off track, ignorant as they are of God and his ways. Everything you command is a sure thing, but they harass me with lies. Help! They've pushed and pushed – they never let up – In your great love revive me so I can alertly obey your every word," Opie finished.

"Now read chapter one hundred nineteen, verses eighty – nine through ninety – six," Tucker said.

"What you says goes, GOD, and stays, as permanent as the heavens. Your truth never goes out of fashion; it's an up – to – date as the earth when the sun comes up. Your Word and truth are dependable as ever; that's what you ordered – you set the earth going. If your revelation hadn't delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came. But I'll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words. Save me! I'm all yours. I look high and low for your words of wisdom. The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me, but I'm only concerned with your plans for me. I see the limits to everything human, but the horizons can't contain your commands!," Opie read.

"Now read chapter one hundred nineteen, verse forty – one through forty – eight," Pastor Tucker told Opie.

"Let your love, GOD, shape my life with salvation, exactly as you promised; Then I'll be able to stand up to mockery because I trusted your Word. Don't ever deprive me of truth, not ever – your commandments are what I depend on. Oh, I'll guard with my life what you've revealed to me, guard it now, guard it ever; And I'll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom; Then I'll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed. I cherish your commandments – oh, how I love them! – relishing every fragment of your counsel," Opie read to Pastor Tucker.

"Very well. Now read chapter one hundred one hundred nineteen, verses forty – nine through fifty – six," Pastor Tucker told Opie.

"Remember what you said to me, your servant – I hang on to these words for dear life! These words hold me up in bad times; The insolent ridicule me without mercy, but I don't budge from your revelation. I watch for your ancient landmark words, and know I'm on the right track. But when I see the wicked ignore your directions, I set your instructions to music and sing them as I walk this pilgrim way. I mediate on your name all night, GOD, treasuring your revelation, O GOD. Still, I walk through a rain of derision because I live by your Word and counsel," Opie read.

"Now the last one for the day is chapter one hundred nineteen, verses one hundred forty – five through one hundred fifty – two," Pastor Tucker said.

"I call out at the top of my lungs, "GOD! Answer! I'll do whatever you say."

"Stop right there for a minute, Opie," Pastor Tucker said.

"What? What did I say?" Opie asked.

"What that Scripture said, you didn't do whatever God told you, didn't you? Is that why your father punished you?" Pastor Tucker asked.

"No, sir, I didn't," Opie said.

"This is where you did your wrongdoing, right?" the minister asked.

"Yes, sir," Opie said.

"Now continue," Pastor Tucker said.

"I called to you, "Save me so I can carry out all your instructions." I was up before sunrise, crying for help, hoping for a word from you. I stayed awake all night, prayerfully pondering your promise. In your love, listen to me; in your justice, GOD, keep me alive. As those out to get me come closer and closer, they go farther and farther from the truth you show; But you're the closest of all to me, GOD, and all your judgments true. I've known all along from the evidence of your words that you meant them to last forever," Opie finished.

"Very well, Opie. We will continue the rest of this tomorrow," Pastor Tucker told Opie.

Opie couldn't believe this was going too fast. He saw Andy and the squad car already outside the church waiting for him when he and his backpack were out of the church. There was silence in the squad car as Andy watched his son get into the front seat of the squad car.

The next day, Opie went back to the church and Pastor Tucker said, "Today we're going through Malachi. You'll be reading chapter three, verses six through seven."

"I am GOD – yes, I AM. I haven't changed. And because I haven't changed you, the descendants of Jacob, haven't been destroyed. You have a long history of ignoring my commands. You haven't done a thing I've told you. Return to me so I can return to you," says God – of the – Angel – Armies," Opie read aloud. "Now read verses eight through eleven," Pastor Tucker said. "You ask, 'But how do we return?' "Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day. "You ask, 'How have we robbed you?' "The tithe and the offering – that's how! And now you're under a curse – the whole lot of you – because you're robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don't open heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. For my part, I will defend you against marauders, protect your wheat fields and vegetable gardens against plunderers." The Message of God – of - the – Angel – Armies," Opie read.

"Now read verse twelve," Pastor Tucker told Opie.

"You'll be voted 'Happiest Nation.' You'll experience what it's like to be a country of grace.'' GOD – of – the – Angel – Armies says so," Opie finished.

The next day arrived fast and Opie came back to the church after school was out for the day.

"Today you will be reading from Matthew, chapter five, verses nineteen through twenty," Pastor Tucker told Opie.

He heard Opie sigh again as he opened the book to the Scripture.

"Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won't know the first thing about entering the kingdom," Opie read.

"Now read chapter eighteen, verses twenty – six through twenty – seven," Pastor Tucker told Opie.

"The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, 'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt," Opie read.

"Now read verse twenty – eight," Pastor Tucker said to Opie.

"The servant was mp sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, 'Pay up. Now!'," Opie read.

"Now read verses twenty – nine through thirty – one," Pastor Tucker said.

"The poor wretch threw himself and begged, 'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' But he wouldn't do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king," Opie finished.

"Now we'll end the day with verses thirty – two through thirty – five," Pastor Tucker said.

"The king summoned the man and said, "You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?" The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy," Opie finished.

The next day, Pastor Tucker told Opie, "Today you'll be reading from Mark, chapter ten, verses eighteen through nineteen."

Opie began to read.

"Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, honor your father and mother," Opie read out loud.

"That was good, Opie. I will see you again tomorrow for tomorrow's Scripture reading," Pastor Tucker said.

Opie left the church with a smile on his face, glad that he had to read only one passage. He came to the church the next day after school at the same time he had done the past week or so.

"Hello, Opie. Are you ready for today's reading?" Pastor Tucker asked.

Opie didn't reply. All he did was nod his head yes.

"Today you will be reading from Luke, chapter seventeen, verses one through two," Pastor Tucker told him.

"He said to his disciples, "Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a swim in the deep blue seat than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!" Opie read.

"Good, Opie," Pastor Tucker said as he dismissed Opie for the day.

The next day arrived and Opie was at the church again.

"Today you're going to be reading from John, chapter fourteen, verse twenty – one," Tucker told Opie.

Opie opened the book and turned to John and began to read aloud.

"The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that's who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him," Opie finished.

Opie noticed the book of John had one verse of chapter fourteen from what he had just read. Pastor Tucker had dismissed him after he finished reading the passage.

"I will see you again tomorrow, Opie," Tucker told Opie.

Opie left the church and waited outside for the squad car's arrival. Opie came back to the church the next day at the usual time.

"Glad you came back, Opie. Today you will be reading from Acts, chapter twenty – six, verses nineteen through twenty," Pastor Tucker told him.

Opie began to read the passages once he flipped the book open.

"What could I do, King Agrippa? I couldn't just walk away from a vision like that! I became an obedient believer on the spot. I started preaching his life change – this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life – right there in Damascus, went on to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and from there to the world," Opie read.

"Very well, Opie," Pastor Tucker said and dismissed him for the day.

Opie was glad to read only a couple of passages a day instead of a whole bunch like he did in the beginning. He still thought this boring. The next day was Opie's last day to read passages from the Word.

"Glad to see you, Opie. I have news for you," Pastor Tucker said.

"What's that?" Opie asked.

"Today is your last day to read Scriptures to me. This is the last of the passages you'll be reading to me from the Word of God about stealing and punishment. This is the last time you will be coming to me about this, but I'll keep praying for what happened," Pastor Tucker said.

"Does Pa know about this?" Opie asked.

"No, but I'll tell him today after you finish this," Pastor Tucker said.

"All right," Opie said.

"Today's last Scripture reading is Hebrews, chapter ten, verses twenty – six through thirty – one," Pastor Tucker said.

Opie turned the Bible to Hebrews and began his last reading from the Word.

"If we give up and turn our backs on all we've learned, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ's sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment – and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God's Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he'll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: "Vengeance is mine, and I won't overlook a thing" and God will judge his people." Nobody's getting by with anything, believe me," Opie finished and shut the book.

"That's all the passages, Opie. We can go outside and wait for your father to pick you up. I want to tell him what a good job you did," Pastor Tucker said as Opie picked up his backpack and put it on his shoulder.

The two went outside the church and waited for the squad car. The squad car came to the church a few minutes later.

"Hi, Opie, Pastor Tucker," I said.

"Hi, Pa," Opie said.

"May I have a few words with you, Andy?" Pastor Tucker said.

"Sure," I said.

"I wanted you to know Opie did a good job the past couple weeks. He is finished and doesn't need to come here after school anymore," Pastor Tucker said.

"Well, I'll be darned. That's good to hear," I said to the minister.

That's when I rolled the window up again after the minister and I finished their conversation and he went back inside the church.

"Well, I hope you learned something from the Scriptures, Op. He sure gave a nice report," I said as I dropped Opie off at the house.

I was happy to hear Opie did well. I drove back to the jail after Opie walked into the house.


	8. Chapter 8

Note: This entire chapter is about the Cline family and their friends so I hope you all don't get confused with original characters in one chapter. Sorry if one of the future chapters will be long but I'm just trying to follow the chapter and its plot. To see more of the Clines and their friends, go to my fictionpress account. The first one about them after this introductory on them is 'The New Law' so I would recommend you start there after you see the rest of the introductory about them in this chapter. Enjoy!

Back in Milwaukee, Sheriff Cline walked into his house that evening to joint he family for supper.

"I'm home!" he called as he walked into the living room.

His wife, Terry, was in the kitchen, making supper. His children, Tony and Sara, were watching television in the living room.

"Hi, Dad," they both said, not taking their eyes off the screen.

"No hugs for your old man?" Sheriff Cline asked.

Tony got up from the floor and gave his father a hug.

"That's better," Sheriff Cline said and returned the hug his son gave him.

"No hugs from my sweetheart?" Sheriff Cline asked his youngest daughter.

"Sara, Dad's talking to you," Tony said.

"What did Dad say?" Sara asked, eyes still glued to the screen.

"He wants a hug from you," Tony repeated their father's words.

"Sorry," she said and ran to their father's arms and gave him a huge hug.

"That's better," Sheriff Cline said and squeezed her.

"Not that hard, Daddy," Sara said.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Sheriff Cline said and let his daughter go back to their television show.

That's when he entered the kitchen and gave his wife a hug.

"Hi, Terry," Sheriff Cline said.

"Hi, Jeremy," she said.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" Terry Cline asked.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Did you remember to take your medication before you left for the office this morning? What about last night?" Terry asked.

"You ask that every day, Terry. Off course I took that awful Prozac last night and again this morning. Don't worry so much," he said as they kissed.

"I worry about you, Jeremy. I worry about what happened to you twelve years ago. You weren't doing your job right twelve years ago. You were sleeping a lot back then," Terry said.

"You know why I was sleeping a lot, Terry. If it weren't for Andy's murder, I wouldn't have been on CPAP and Prozac today," Sheriff Cline said.

"Of course you wouldn't, Jeremy. That's why I worry. You were depressed a lot back then when Deputy Jones was murdered.

"A lot of the officers had to act sheriff because of your health and you couldn't do your job right," Terry said.

"I am now, aren't I? I'm still sheriff of this town," he said.

"Yes, you are, since you're back on track," Terry said.

"Look at you twelve years later, Jeremy. You're still without a deputy," Terry said.

"I know that. I plan to look for a new one tomorrow. I think I know who it is," he said.

"Is that officer anyone we know?" Terry asked.

"She's been in my department for some time now. She's just Andy's age, but she isn't on Andy's case. She is also deputy, but I think she is the one who could do the job right," Jeremy said.

"Did you say she? Who is this woman?" Terry asked, finding it interesting her husband had a woman officer as deputy.

"Her name is Karen McCarey. I don't know if you two have met or not, but she's pleasant," Sheriff Cline said.

"I've never heard that name before. Is she new in town?" Terry Cline asked.

"No, she's not. She's a citizen here. I'll have to introduce you two sometime. You'll like her," Sheriff Cline said.

"I'm sure I would. Would you call Tony and Sara to the table? Have them wash their hands first," Terry said.

"All right," Sheriff Cline said and left the kitchen.

He went to the living room where the teens were watching television.

"Dinner's on the table, kids," Sheriff Cline said.

Tony got up right away. He knew it was Sara's turn to turn off the remote that night.

"Don't forget to wash up for supper," Sheriff Cline added.

He saw Sara turn off the remote and get up.

"Before the kids get in here to sit down, mind if I ask how you felt this morning before you left for work?" Terry asked.

"Not this subject again," Sheriff groaned to himself.

He didn't want Terry to hear him.

"Why do you want to know?" Sheriff Cline asked his wife.

"I need to know, Jeremy. I like to keep track of how you're feeling every day," Terry said.

"I felt fine except I wake up with headaches every morning. Those don't disappear," he said.

"You should know by now that's normal with CPAP," Terry said.

"I know," he said as Tony joined them in the kitchen and they sat down in their regular seats.

They waited to eat until Sara came in so they could start eating. Sara finally joined the three of them and then they started passing food around the table.

"How was school today?" Sheriff Cline asked Tony and Sara.

"Fine," they both replied in unison.

After a few moments' silence, Terry was the first one to speak.

"Jeremy, I saw Cecil at the gas station this afternoon," Terry said.

"You did? I didn't know you had to take the car in to get the tank filled up," he said.

"It had to get filled up. Cecil filled the tank for me. We had a nice chat," she said.

"He asked about you," Terry added.

"He did? That's nice. What did you tell Cecil?" Sheriff Cline asked as he took another bite of meatloaf.

"I told him you were doing fine and were busy at the office. He said to tell you your squad car is due for a service," Terry said.

"Thanks for the reminder. I'll have someone take it in," Jeremy said.

"When does Cecil want the squad car in?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"He said he wants it on Thursday at nine o'clock," Terry said.

"Thanks. I'll have someone from the office take it to him," Sheriff Cline said.

"All right."

"Tomorrow morning I'm getting myself a new deputy. It's been twelve years since I've had one," he reminded his wife.

"Good luck, Jeremy. You do need a new one," she said.

"It's still not the same without Andy," he said.

"He sure was a good deputy. He was the right one to put away the robbers in jail. I don't know if Karen can do the same thing. We'll wait and see," Sheriff Cline said, feeling a little depressed.

Dinnertime was finally over. The family cleared the table and Terry asked Sara to do the dishes that night. Sheriff Cline asked Terry if there was any mail for him that day.

"Just bills," she answered.

"That's all we've been getting lately," he said.

"That's no surprise," she agreed.

He went into the living room and changed the channel the teens were watching earlier when he walked into the house. He turned the television to the evening news. After the news came on, they went to commercial break. He thought he came to the channel a little bit too late. That's when he saw Tony walk into the living room.

"Dad, would you help me with my homework tonight? Some of it is about the law," Tony said.

"Sure. Get started and I'll be up in a few minutes," Sheriff Cline said.

"Okay," Tony said and went to his bedroom upstairs.

That's when Sara walked into the living room. She was finished with the dishes.

"Don't you have homework to do too?" he asked.

"Yes, Daddy," she said.

"Go to your room and hop to it," he said.

"Yes, sir," she said and disappeared to her room.

That's when Sheriff Cline found his wife alone in the kitchen. He left the television on with the commercial talking about car insurance.

"The kids are in their bedrooms, doing homework," he said.

"Good idea. I cleaned out your CPAP machine again this morning. Those things are tough to clean. Your new machine will be coming at the end of this week," she said.

"I really am not a fan of these machines, Terry," he said.

"I know you're not and neither am I. At least they help you in the middle of the night. Some nights when you're sleeping, you stop breathing altogether. You scare me when you do that. That happened last night," Terry told her husband.

"I did? When was that?" he asked.

"Three in the morning," she said.

"Was I aware of it?" he asked.

"No."

"Sorry if I scared you," he said as the couple gave each other a hug.

"Well, I'd better go and help Tony with his homework. He says it's about the law," Sheriff Cline said.

"That's an easy subject for you," Terry agreed as they heard the evening news come back on.

Sheriff Cline headed to his son's bedroom and knocked at the door. Tony opened the door.

"Tell me what you need help with," Sheriff Cline said to his son as he walked into his son's bedroom.

Tony told him what the assignment was. Sheriff Cline stayed in Tony's room, helping him with his homework for a while and then he was out of the room. A few hours passed that evening. The children were in bed around nine o'clock that night. Sheriff Cline remembered he usually didn't go to bed around ten.

"Jeremy, don't forget to take your medicines before bed," Terry said.

"I know you worry, Terry, but you don't need to keep reminding me on these awful meds every day and night. I can do it myself," he said.

"I worry about this sleep apena you have, Jeremy. Isn't that why I remind you every day and night?" she asked.

He didn't answer her.

The next morning arrived. Sheriff Cline was at the office at seven – thirty that morning. He hung up his jacket on the jacket rack with the other jackets. He sat in the desk chair as the phone begin ringing. He answered it.

"Sheriff's office," he said and listened to the first complaint of the day.

"I'll send someone over right away, ma'am," Sheriff Cline said and put the phone down right away.

That's when he saw Karen McCarey walk in fifteen minutes later.

"Hi, Sheriff," she said.

"Morning," he said.

He saw her red hair was neatly washed.

"Sorry if I was a bit late. I had to drive my boys to school," Karen said.

"That's all right. Do whatever you have to do," he said.

"Karen, while you're here, we need to talk," Sheriff Cline said.

"About what?" she asked.

"Before we start, I'm going to send an officer out on Main Street. There was a complaint," Sheriff Cline said.

"A complaint at this hour? Do you want me to do it?" Karen asked.

"I'd be happy to," she offered.

"Sure. You can do it if you want," Sheriff Cline said.

"After you get back, the two of us are going to have a little talk," he said.

"Okay. Where on Main Street is the complaint?" Karen asked.

"Out by Super Cuts," Sheriff Cline said.

"I know the location, Sheriff," Karen said and headed out of the office.

Karen drove straight for Main Street.

Before she could get into the car, she saw another officer outside of the sheriff's office.

"Morning, Deputy McCarey," the officer said.

"Morning, Officer Williams," Karen said.

"Where are you headed?" Officer Williams asked.

"Out to Main Street. Sheriff says there was a complaint out by Super Cuts," Karen said.

"You can't go alone anymore, remember, Deputy? Remember what happened to Deputy Jones," Officer Williams reminded her.

"I remember what happened to Deputy Jones twelve years ago," Karen said.

"Let me go with you," Officer Williams said.

"Don't you have to tell the sheriff first?" she asked.

"Good point. I'll let him know," Williams and he disappeared into the building.

A minute later, Officer Williams came back to the squad car.

"Sheriff says it's all right," Williams said and got into the passenger's seat and they both drove off.

"What is the complaint we got, Deputy?" Williams asked.

Karen told him as they looked for a parking spot. Williams didn't say anything. They both got their guns out of the car and went to the real estate office.

"Hello, Deputy McCarey," the real estate agent said.

"We got the complaint," Karen said.

"What did you say to Sheriff Cline when you called?" Williams asked.

"We got robbed last night, Deputy," the real estate agent said.

"Robbed? Do you know what the robber looked like?" Karen asked as Williams grabbed his little book to take notes.

"The real estate office isn't the only place that got robbed last night. The haircut place got robbed, too," the real estate agent, Vicky Brown said.

"Which haircut place? The one here on Main?" Karen asked.

"Yes, Deputy, the one here next to Century21. You will have to talk to Joseph about that. He might have caught the robbers as he was closing up for the night," Vicky Brown said.

"I'm sorry, Vicky, catching robbers really isn't my department. I'm new on this job. I haven't been in this department long enough to catch robbers. Deputy Jones did that job," Karen said.

"I forgot your name, Deputy. What did you say your name is?" Vicky Brown asked.

"Deputy McCarey," Karen said, flashing her badge.

"I'm sorry your name is unfamiliar to me, Deputy. I'm just more familiar with Deputy Jones but we were all shocked with his murder twelve years ago," Vicky said.

"I know you were. I'm not on his case but I just know who he is. I've been with this department for twelve years now," Karen said.

"Maybe someday you'll be as good as Deputy Jones," Vicky told her.

"I might," Karen said as they got the description of the robbers that came to Main Street last night.

"We'll talk with Joseph and see what he caught. Thank you for your information," Karen said as the two officers left the real estate agent.

"We'll talk to Joseph later on, McCarey. The place still isn't open. You know these haircut places don't open till later," Williams reminded her.

"Right," Karen agreed as they went back to the squad car.

They drove back to the sheriff's department. Karen walked into the office a second time that morning. She gave Sheriff Cline the details they got from Vicky Brown, the realtor.

"We'll talk to Joseph later once he opens up shop," Sheriff Cline said.

"Williams and I already planned that," Karen said.

"Good," he said.

"Now let's have our talk," Sheriff Cline said.

"What's the talk about?" Karen asked, curious.

"You," Sheriff Cline answered.

"What about me?" she asked.

"I do have a surprise for you," he said.

"What's that?" Karen McCarey asked.

She wondered what the surprise was.

"Remember twelve years ago Andy was murdered?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"I do remember that," Karen said.

"I got to thinking last night. I want to you take Andy's place as deputy," he said.

"Aren't I already deputy?" Karen asked.

"You are, but I need a new deputy, though. You know I've been without one for twelve long years, Karen. I will understand if you're not interested," Sheriff Cline said.

"I will do it," Karen said.

"Good," he said and she was sworn in.

A few hours had passed. Sheriff Cline had thought it was a good time for Karen to go to back into town and see if she could question Joseph about the robbery the other night.

"Why don't you go into town and question Joseph, Karen? I think he might be open by now," Sheriff Cline said, looking at the wall clock.

The wall clock now read 10:00 A.M.

"Good point, Sheriff. Should I bring Officer Williams with me?" she asked.

"It's the law out here in Milwaukee now, Karen. Ever since what happened with Andy twelve years ago, you should bring somebody with you, no matter where you go, including patrol," Sheriff Cline said.

"Is this part of the policy?" Karen asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"I thought so," Karen said.

"It's a way to protect ourselves out here in Milwaukee, Karen so we wouldn't get killed like Andy did. We need to solve this case. I forgot to mention that you are officially on Andy's case now," Sheriff Cline told Karen.

"I am?" she asked.

"Yes, you are," he said.

"I never thought I would be on this case, Sheriff," Karen said.

"Well, you are now, since you're my newest deputy," he said.

She didn't reply. Karen headed outside to the squad car.

Before she could leave the office building, Sheriff Cline called after her, "Karen, while you're in town, would you and Williams mind going by the gas station and dropping the squad car off for its checkup?"

"Sure. I'm sure we won't mind. Did Cecil say it was due?" she asked.

"My wife told me she ran into Cecil yesterday afternoon and he gave her the message the squad car was due for its regular checkup," Sheriff Cline said.

"Okay. We'll see what we can do," Karen said.

"Thanks," Sheriff Cline said.

"You're welcome," she said and went to the car.

Williams was out on a break when she came out.

"Where are you going?" Officer Williams asked.

"To question Joseph. You want to come along? We also have to take the squad car to Cecil. Sheriff wants us to drop it off," she said.

"Okay. We can do that," he said.

He joined Karen McCarey in the squad car. He didn't mind being the passenger.

"Should we take the car in first or go to the barber shop first?" Karen asked Williams.

"I'd vote for the service. Barber shop is a little out of the way," Williams said.

"Right," Karen said.

She drove straight to the service station. They arrived at the service station within twenty to thirty minutes. They both got out of the car as they parked the car.

"I'll go find Cecil," Karen said.

"Okay. I won't mind staying with the car," he said.

"Okay," she said.

Karen went into the station. She found a short, skinny blonde – haired man in his twenties hanging up the telephone.

"Hi, Karen," the man said.

"Hi, Cecil. Officer Williams and I brought the car for its regular check – up," Karen said.

"It's not even Thursday," Cecil Thomas complained.

"You mean we brought it a little early?" Karen asked.

"Yes, you did. I don't take early arrivals. I'm sorry, Karen. I'll have to see you again in a couple days. It's only Tuesday," Cecil reminded her.

"I'm sorry. I thought you would take early arrivals," Karen said.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry," he apologized a second time.

"That's all right. We'll be back Thursday," Karen said.

"That's all right. I'm reminding you now I don't do early arrivals. Tell Jeremy he reminded you too early," Cecil said.

"I'll tell him you said that," Karen said and walked out of the station.

Karen rejoined Officer Williams at the car.

"That was fast," he said.

"Cecil said he doesn't take early arrivals. He said he'll take the car on Thursday instead of today. Sheriff Cline was wrong about today being Thursday," Karen said.

Williams didn't reply. The two officers got into the squad car and drove to the barbershop on Main Street in silence. Karen found a parking place near the barbershop. Once they found a spot, they put money in the meter and walked into the barbershop since the sign read OPEN. Karen and Officer Williams found a few customers in the barbershop waiting to have their haircuts. They found Joseph, the barber, cutting a customer's hair.

"Joseph, may we talk?" Karen asked.

The tall, overweight dark – haired man had a bottle in his hand sprayed water on the customer's hair and cut some more hair. Joseph heard the familiar voice of Karen McCarey. Joseph looked up from his customer's hair and looked at the two officers.

"Hi, Karen, Frank," Joseph said.

"Hi, Joseph," Frank Williams said.

"Joseph, we talked to Vicky Brown about the robbery. She thought you might have caught the robbers here in your shop when you were closing up. What did the robbers look like and what did they take?" Karen asked.

"Robbers? What robbers?" Joseph asked.

Joseph thought a second time.

"Oh, those robbers. The robbers were scary, Karen. You should have been here last night," Joseph said.

"Tell me about the robbers, Joseph," Karen said.

"They were here in my shop and the real estate agency," Joseph said.

"That's the information we got from Vicky, Joseph. What do you remember from last night?" she asked.

"Last night? Oh, I see. The robbers were wearing masks, Karen. The kind you can't pull off from their faces. I think they were John Doe," Joseph Miller said.

Karen was writing the information down that Joseph was telling her and Frank.

"Do you think those masks you are telling us about are fake?" Karen asked.

"How am I supposed to know that, Karen? If they were, you could pull them off in a snap," Joseph said.

"Maybe those masks are a joke, Joseph. Thank you for the information. You still haven't given us the description of the robbers," Karen said.

"Where they short, tall, skinny, overweight, what?" Karen asked.

"One of them was tall and the other one was fat. I couldn't tell what the color of their eyes were because they had masks on their faces," Joseph told Frank and Karen.

"Where they American, Asian, African, what?" Karen asked.

She wanted more detail on the robbers.

"I think one robber looked American and the other African American. I couldn't be sure," Joseph said.

"Male? Female?" Karen asked.

"Both were male partners," Joseph said because he knew both voices sounded manly.

"How did these men sound to you, Joseph? Old? Young?" Karen asked.

"In between. I don't know. I think one sounded like he was twenty or so and the other was in his fifties. I couldn't tell," Joseph said.

"That's good enough, Joseph. Did they carry any weapons with them?" Karen asked.

"I didn't see any," Joseph Miller said.

"Skip that, Frank," Karen said.

"Here's the last question and we should be on our way," Karen said.

"What's that?" Joseph asked.

"How much money was stolen?" Karen asked.

"From here or the real estate agency?" Joseph asked.

"Here. We'll deal with the agency when we go there," Karen said.

"Here they took over seven thousand dollars. I want my money back," Joseph said.

"We're working on it, Joseph. We wanted information first," Karen said.

"Thanks for the info, Joseph. We'll see you again next time," Karen said as she and Frank Williams started for the door.

"Anytime, Karen. Tell Jeremy hi for me," he said.

"We will," she said and the two of them headed for the squad car.

They drove back to the sheriff's office. Before they could go back to the sheriff's office, they went to a different direction of the town for a while. That's when Karen and Frank spotted the town druggie, Brad Scott. He was walking on the streets in the other direction unaware of things. Karen could see the town druggie was about to collapse any second.

"Should we take Brad with us?" Frank asked.

"Might be a good idea, Frank."

They parked the car near the town druggie and stopped the engine.

"Wait here, Frank," Karen said and got out of the driver's seat.

She went up to the skinny, blonde – haired twenty – year – old town druggie. That's when Brad collapsed on the ground. Karen dragged Brad Scott to the squad car. Frank was already out of the squad car and had the backseat open for Karen.

"Is he on dope again?" Frank asked.

"I don't know, but if you ask me, I would probably vote for yes," Karen said, thinking of the drug heroin.

"He's got to stop that. If he doesn't he could die at an early age," Frank said.

"True. At least he doesn't carry drugs with him when he's with us," Karen said.

"I know that," Frank said as the two officers carried the town druggie into the backseat and Karen shut the squad car door and the officers got back into the front seat and started the car again.

Several minutes later, Karen and Frank were back at the jail. They knocked on the sheriff's front door because she and Frank had their hands full with Brad Scott. Sheriff Cline opened the door and found Karen and Frank with Brad Scott in their hands.

"What's this all about?" Sheriff Cline asked, surprised to see Brad Scott with his newest deputy and officer in their hands.

"Brad collapsed on the ground. I think he was on heroin again," Karen said.

"Again? Lock him up," Sheriff Cline said, not surprised about Brad's doing drugs.

So Karen and Frank locked up Brad like Sheriff Cline told them to. While Karen was at it, she told Frank she was going to check up on the women prisoners.

"Okay," he said and locked up Brad in the cell.

Brad didn't budge once when Frank and Karen were putting him in the cell. He was still out. Karen did her routine where they kept the women prisoners. She didn't mind checking up on the men either. She heard tons of complaining from the women prisoners.

"QUIET!" Karen yelled at the top of her lungs.

Frank joined Sheriff Cline at his desk again.

"Where's Karen?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"She's checking up on the prisoners," he said.

"Good idea," Sheriff Cline said.

He thought he heard Karen yelling.

"I'll be back, Frank. I thought I heard yelling," Sheriff Cline said and disappeared to the cells where they kept the women prisoners.

Sheriff Cline walked into the room just then.

"What's going on here?" Sheriff Cline asked.

Karen went over to the sheriff.

"I could hear yelling from my desk, Karen. It's way to noisy for me to hear," Sheriff Cline said.

"The prisoners are complaining. I don't want to hear their complaints, Jeremy," Karen said.

Sheriff Cline looked at the wall clock.

"You know what I think?" Sheriff Cline asked her.

"What?" Karen asked.

"I think it's time to give the prisoners their meds," Sheriff Cline said.

Karen groaned.

"That's the one thing I don't need to worry about yet about myself," Karen said as the two of them headed out of the cell room.

"You're lucky. I do. I wish I could turn the clock back twelve years ago when I didn't have to worry about medications. Terry's bugging me about that day and night," Sheriff Cline said.

"Why don't you tell her to stop if it's driving you crazy?" Karen asked.

"She'll continue, don't worry. You're lucky you're not married to have a husband to tell you the same thing," Sheriff Cline said as he helped Karen carry the containers with the prisoners' names on them.

"I was married once. Marriage doesn't work for me," Karen said as the two of them gave a woman her allergy medicines and another woman her diabetes medicines.

"I can take over, Sheriff. Don't the men need theirs too?" Karen asked, thinking of the men in the other room.

"You're right. I'll help Frank with the men prisoners while you finish up here," he said and left with a few containers he had finished.

"Frank, it's routine time with the prisoners for meds," Sheriff Cline told Officer Williams.

He heard Officer Williams groan just like Karen did.

"I don't want to hear any groaning. Deputy McCarey has done the exact same thing," Sheriff Cline said as he put the diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and thyroid medications away for the meantime.

He then grabbed the next few containers for the men prisoners as Frank Williams did the same thing while groaning and moaning. The phone began to ring. Karen came out just then.

"Karen, would you get that?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"Sure," she said as the sheriff and the officer went into the men cell room.

"Sheriff's office," Karen said.

"Is Jeremy there?" Terry Cline asked.

"Who is this?" Karen asked.

"His wife," Terry said.

"He is, but he went to take care of some duty here at the jail. If you don't mind waiting for a bit, he'll take your call," Karen said.

"Okay," Terry Cline said.

A few minutes later, Sheriff Cline came back to the desk.

"Your wife is on the phone," Karen said.

"Thank you," he said, taking the phone from Karen.

"Hi, honey," he said.

They talked for a while and then he put the phone back in its spot.

"Your wife sounds like a nice lady," Karen said.

"Thank you. She is. I was thinking of introducing the two of you sometime," Sheriff Cline.

"That's thoughtful of you," Karen said.

"We'll talk about it and see when we can do that," Sheriff Cline said.

"I'm available. I'll just have to find a baby – sitter if it's an evening," Karen said, thinking of Norman and Jay, her adopted sons.

He didn't reply. Five o'clock arrived and the three officers left for home for the evening. Sheriff Cline ate supper with his family that evening. After the meal was over that evening, and the teens were in bed at nine o'clock, he and Terry were in bed one hour later. Sheriff Cline and his wife said good – night at ten o'clock and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9, Part 1

Back in Mayberry, I got on the phone. I thought I'd give Sheriff Cline a call and say hello. I knew it'd been a while since the two of us talked.

"Sara, give me Sheriff Cline at the Milwaukee Sheriff's Department," I said on the telephone.

I remembered Barney was out on patrol so I wasn't worried about Barney. I listened to the phone ring at my friend's office for a while until somebody picked up.

"Sheriff's office," I heard my friend say on the other end of the line.

"Hi, Jeremy," I said.

"Andy?" Sheriff Cline said in a surprised voice.

"Yes, it's me. You sound like you weren't expecting a call from me," I said.

"I wasn't," Sheriff Cline said.

"Why are you calling me?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"I wanted to say hello," I said.

"Hi."

I could tell my friend didn't sound excited to hear from me. I also could tell Sheriff Cline didn't sound very happy. I wondered what was on my friend's mind.

"What's wrong, Jeremy? You don't sound very happy," I said.

"Nothing's wrong, Andy," Sheriff Cline said in a depressed voice.

"Something's wrong, Jeremy. You don't sound like your old self," I said.

That's when Barney walked into the office. I looked at Barney.

Barney whispered, "Who are you talking to?"

"Sheriff Cline," I whispered back.

"Oh."

"Andy, I was thinking about you lately," Sheriff Cline said.

"You were? That's nice," I said.

Sheriff Cline didn't reply right away. I was trying to figure out what he had on his mind.

"Andy, I was thinking of coming out to Mayberry," Sheriff Cline said.

"You were? I'd like to see you again," I said.

"This is for business, Andy, not for personal vacation," Sheriff Cline said.

"That's okay too, Jeremy. You're welcome to stay at my house with Aunt Bee and Opie and myself," I said.

"Thank you. Let me think about that for a while," Sheriff Cline said.

"Okay," I said.

"I wanted to come out to Mayberry because of my deputy's murder," Sheriff Cline said.

"That's all right, Jeremy. I haven't been able to get anywhere on your case," I said.

"I was wondering what you've found," Sheriff Cline said.

"I'll call you when I'm going to come out," Sheriff Cline said.

"All right. You know where to reach me," I said.

"I still haven't lost your number," Sheriff Cline said.

We hung up after saying good – bye.

"Is he really coming out to Mayberry, Ange?" Barney asked once I put the phone back in its spot.

"What was that all about?" Barney asked.

"Sheriff Cline is thinking of coming out here in Mayberry. He said it's about the case of his deputy. I'm not getting anywhere on this case," I said.

"It looks like it since you keep looking at the same pictures and reports," Barney said.

Once I was at my house for supper that night, I told Opie and Aunt Bee about my telephone conversation with Sheriff Cline.

"He's welcome to stay here with us," Aunt Bee said.

"I told him that, Aunt Bee. When we were talking, he didn't sound like his old self. I think he's changed," I said.

"The poor dear," Aunt Bee said.

"Did he say when he was coming, Pa?" Opie asked.

"No, he didn't. He'll call once he has made a decision," I said.

"Oh. Pa, can we talk?" Opie asked.

"Sure. What's it about?" I asked.

Aunt Bee already knew what it was about because Opie had told her the day he was grounded that he had met Tony Cline, Sheriff Cline's son in Milwaukee and what their conversation was about. Aunt Bee didn't have to guess what this conversation was about so she stayed out of the talk.

"Pa, it's about the case you took," Opie said.

"I said I don't want to hear it," I said.

"Andy, listen to Opie. It'll do you good," Aunt Bee said.

"All right," I said.

"You're still grounded," Andy told Opie.

"I know," Opie said.

He didn't want to be reminded about his punishment.

"What do you have to tell me?" I asked Opie.

"Pa, what I'm going to tell you you're not going to enjoy hearing it," Opie said.

"I'm listening," I said, taking a bite of Aunt Bee's homemade roast beef.

Opie finally spoke up.

"Pa, remember when I went out-of-town for the football game?" Opie asked.

"I do," I said.

"When the school made a touchdown before having a break, I met your friend's son. He's not quarterback for that school. We were face – to – face when they made the touchdown. He told me he wanted to speak to me after the game was over alone," Opie said.

"Is that why you missed your bus back to the hotel?" I asked.

"Yes, Pa," Opie said.

"Please continue," I said, knowing there was more.

"When we finished the game and lost, I met your friend's son in the locker room when everyone left. Do you know what he told me?" Opie asked.

"What?" I asked.

"He told me he was the witness to the murder of his father's murder case twelve years ago," Opie said.

"Do you believe him or is he lying?" I asked.

"I don't think he's lying, Pa. He said his pa doesn't even know he was the witness," Opie said.

"That boy should stop hiding secrets from his family," I said.

Aunt Bee didn't say anything because she had food in her mouth but nodded in agreement.

"He says he doesn't want to tell his pa because he thinks his pa wouldn't let him go anywhere on his own anymore if he tells him," Opie said.

I didn't say anything. I went back to eating the rest of the meal.

In Milwaukee, Sheriff Cline was eating supper with his family. Like most of the nights, he didn't eat much of the meal. Terry had noticed that. She knew it was part of her husband's depression that he would eat a lot or less, depending on his moods.

"How was work today, Jeremy?" Terry asked.

"Fine," he said, his fork touching the meal and he wasn't touching any of it to eat.

"When are you going to let me drive the car again, Terry? I need it for protecting the town," Sheriff Cline said.

"Never. We took it away twelve years ago, Jeremy. After that accident you were in, we decided you won't drive anymore. Period," Terry said.

"I can't be a law enforcement without a car," he said.

"Well, you've got to," Terry Cline said.

"Being sheriff doesn't work that way, Terry," he reminded her.

"I spoke with Andy on the phone today, Terry. I'm thinking of going out to Mayberry soon. I would need the car to go out there," he said.

"No, you're not driving the car out to Mayberry, Jeremy. You'll have to get Tony to drive the car. I know he has school, but I would trust him to take some time off and drive you to Mayberry. I don't want another accident," Terry said.

"I'm only going out there for the case, Terry," Sheriff Cline said.

She didn't say anything.

"Do the Taylors know you have depression?" Terry asked.

"No," Sheriff Cline said.

"Then they'll have to learn the signs while you're out there. It's important if they know your signs, Jeremy. What if they have to reach the suicide hotline while you're out there?" Terry asked.

"That's not going to happen. Stop worrying so much," Sheriff Cline said.

"I have to worry, Jeremy. I'm going to send every single book and brochure I have with you so the Taylors can read up on depression so they can understand you," Terry said.

"Don't do that," he said.

"Too late. I'm going to have Tony give them those to read up on," Terry said.

Sheriff Cline didn't like what she was planning on doing. He wished she'd leave this subject alone but she wouldn't. That's just the way she is, Sheriff Cline thought to himself. He remembered Karen helped him with his medicines at the office since Terry had made arrangements for those plans if he forgot himself. Sheriff Cline then excused himself from the dinner table. The other three watched him like a hawk as he excused himself. Terry knew he didn't eat a single bite that night.

"Tony, you heard our talk tonight. I trust you taking a leave from school if your father plans on going on a business trip to Mayberry. I want you to do all the driving both ways from here to Mayberry and back home when your father is ready to come home. You remember that car accident he was in twelve years ago," Terry Cline said to her sixteen – year – old son.

"I remember, Mom. Do we have to give them all that information on Dad's depression?" Tony asked.

"Yes, if they don't know anything about it," Terry said.

"Oh," he said.

Tony knew he'd never been to Mayberry, North Carolina before. He remembered playing against the high school not too long ago. Tony thought back twelve years ago when his father was first diagnosed with depression. He and Sara missed a lot of school back then because of their dad.

They had all their family members and a lot of friends at the house helping out with his father throughout the entire day and that included medications. Now he was twelve years older, he was helping his father with medications and transportation. He remembered twelve years ago when his father was diagnosed with depression and was in the car accident, his father was suspended from driving for life so he couldn't drive anymore. He remembered all the counseling his father went through twelve years ago and it turned out his depression turned out to be the murder of Andrew Jones that had caused it to happen. Tony knew this is tough but at least his family gets help with his father.


	10. Chapter 9, Part 2

The next morning, Sheriff Cline didn't go to work. He called in the office saying he wasn't going in that day.

"All right, Sheriff. By the way, we have someone coming in the office who would like to speak with you today. What do we tell them?" Karen asked.

"Tell them to call me at home," Sheriff Cline told her.

"Okay," she said as they got off the phone.

After the phone call with Karen, Sheriff Cline told his wife what Karen had told her.

"I told her to have them call me here," he said.

"All right. I wonder what they want," Terry said.

"I don't know what the State wants with me," he said.

"I guess we'll find out once they call," Terry said.

"Guess so."

At nine o'clock, the house telephone rang. Terry answered it, thinking it was the phone call they were talking about.

"It's for you," she said, handing her husband the telephone.

"Thanks," he said, taking it from her.

"Sheriff Cline speaking," he said.

He listened to the other speaker on the other end of the line. They spoke for a few minutes and a few minutes later, he put the phone back in its place. He wasn't very happy.

"You don't look very happy, Jeremy," Terry said.

"You're right I don't," he said.

"Was it the call Karen mentioned?" Terry asked.

"Yes," he said.

"What did they tell you?" Terry asked.

"I'm not sheriff anymore."

"What!" Terry exclaimed.

She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"I guess I'll postpone my trip to Mayberry then," he said depressed.

"When is your last day at the office?" Terry asked.

"They said when this murder case is finished," he said, "but again it might not get solved since it is a no witness case."

"I'm not telling Andy I'm not sheriff anymore. He won't like that kind of news," Sheriff Cline added.

"Do we know who is taking over your spot?" Terry asked.

"I sure don't. They haven't decided yet," Sheriff Cline said depressed.

"Did they say why you're not sheriff anymore?" Terry asked.

"It's because of my depression they said."

"That's too bad they're making you go. You've been a police officer for a long time. You're not even the retirement age yet," Terry reminded him.

"I know."

"I was on the computer the other night. I found a way that would make you feel a lot better," Terry said.

"What?" he asked.

"Getting off the medicines?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"Not that. You can't get off them. I was on this one site and it was talking about one way to feel better if you have depression," Terry said.

"What's that?" he asked.

He was showing no interest in hearing this.

"It said by eating certain foods you could feel a lot better. You haven't been doing that. You don't even eat at mealtime," she said.

"From now on, like it or not, you're going to eat," Terry told him in a strict voice.

"You're going to try eating right this minute," Terry went on.

"Eating doesn't help me," he said.

"You haven't been eating for what seems like years, Jeremy. If you don't, you could die. Do you want that?" she asked.

"No."

"Then start. Do you want Tony and Sara to be fatherless?" she asked.

"No. I'm still alive."

"You are alive but you're not doing things with us," Terry said.

"I do things with you and the kids," he said.

"Since when? You don't go to Tony's football games, do you? No. You don't go to Sara's concerts, do you? No. Do you hang out with us on family outings or vacations? No," Terry said.

"Where are you when those kids need advice? You're nowhere!" Terry yelled and ran out of the kitchen. Sheriff could hear his wife's tears on the living room couch.

He didn't realize his depression had taken the family that seriously. He went to the couch and patted her on the back.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"You should be after twelve years! Where were you when the family needed you? Where were you? That car accident should have never happened!" Terry said, still in tears.

"Twelve years later you're out of a job and still with suspension of a license," Terry told him, still crying.

"And the family is getting help with counselors," Terry added.

"That's all because of you!" she said in tears.

Sheriff Cline didn't know what to say. All he could do was hug his wife.

After the two hugged, he asked, "Why don't you go back to what you were doing before you came out here?"

"Right. Sorry I was in all this crying mood," she said, getting up from the couch.

They both went back to the kitchen.

"You're going to eat, like it or not. If you want to get better, we will stop the counseling and all this other stuff. The kids will stop counseling as well. In case you didn't realize this, we've been counseling for the past twelve years because of you," Terry told him.

"I didn't notice that," he said.

"Well, we have been. And Cecil even put us in the Lord's hands. That's what he told me not too long ago. I know we're not religious and he is, but he said that. I know that's nice of him to worry about us," Terry said.

"After seeing this one site last night, it was mentioning all these ideas for you to feel better," Terry said.

"I thought I'd try it to see how well it works," Terry added.

"What's the idea?" he asked.

"The site mentioned you should eat fruits, veggies, poultry, a small amount of chocolate. You should drink some milk since it's good for you. I thought I'd try it on you since you've been depressed the last twelve years. Today the day to start," Terry said.

She cut an apple and gave him a slice to start with.

"Not hungry," he said.

"Whether or not, you eat now," she said strictly.

He tried eating a bite of the green apple she just cut.

"It'll make you feel better. Trust me," she said.

She watched him eat a little bite of the apple. He didn't say anything after the first bite or when the apple was gone. She gave him a second slice.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked.

"I guess you're right. I do feel a little better," he said.

"I told you so," she said.

"Eat the thing," Terry said.

"From today on, you eat. Got it?" Terry said.

"Yes, doctor," he said.

"How does work sound?" Terry asked.

"I'll go," he said.

"Good. I'll drive you," she said.

"Not so fast," he said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I already told the office I wasn't going to be in today," he said.

"Call them back and tell them you're going to be in," she said.

"All right," he said, "but I have another call to make first."

"Okay."

He decided to make a call to Mayberry, North Carolina. I took the call since he was still in the office that morning.

"Hi, Jeremy," I said.

"Hi, Andy. Mind if we talk?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"Sure. What about?" I asked.

"My trip to Mayberry," Sheriff Cline said.

"What about it? Are you still planning to come out?" I asked.

"It looks like I'm postponing the trip. I may never come out. I have news for you," Sheriff Cline said.

He was dreading to tell me that he isn't going to be sheriff anymore.

"What's the news?" I asked.

"I'm not going to be sheriff anymore," Sheriff Cline said.

"Ain't that a shame. Why not?" I asked.

"I'm not going out because it's my health, Andy. If I ever do plan a business trip I would have to either fly out or have my boy drive me. My license is suspended for life so I can't drive anymore," Sheriff Cline said.

"How did your license get suspended? How can you do patrol as a police officer?" I asked.

"I was in a car accident twelve years ago when my deputy was murdered so that's why the license was suspended for life. That's when I also started having health problems. They are severe so that's why I'm leaving my duties to protect the town soon. I don't know who will take my place as sheriff. That's why I'm leaving soon but I'm not sure how many days I have left with the police force," Sheriff Cline said.

"Well, that's a shame, Jeremy. You take care of yourself," I said, disappointed to hear about my friend's health.

"Maybe sometime I will come out and visit you and the family," I said.

"That's a better idea since I can't go out there. I thought you had to know," Sheriff Cline said.

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll pass word out to Aunt Bee and Opie," I said as the two ended our conversation.

The next morning at breakfast, Andy was eating cereal with Aunt Bee and Opie.

"I talked with Jeremy yesterday, Aunt Bee," I said.

"How is he?" Aunt Bee asked.

"He was thinking of coming out here to Mayberry to work on the case. It looks like he ain't coming out here after all," I said.

"Why not, Pa?" Opie asked.


	11. Chapter 9, Part 3

"He tells me he ain't sheriff anymore for his town," I said.

"Did he retire?" Aunt Bee asked.

"He's not even the retirement age, Aunt Bee. Op,get ready for school. I'll drive you to school," I said.

"You've been driving me to school lately, Pa," Opie reminded me.

"I know, Op and you know why," I said.

Opie didn't want to say why.

While Opie was upstairs getting ready to go to school, I told Aunt Bee, "Jeremy isn't coming out here to Mayberry because he isn't sheriff anymore and he worked until his last day as sheriff until he got sick with severe depression."

"That's too bad, Andy. Maybe it's a better idea you go out there and visit him instead," Aunt Bee said.

"I told him I would visit him," I said, "and he said that was a better idea."

"Why don't you take Opie with you?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Not when he's punished," I said.

"Does Jeremy's wife have a job?" Aunt Bee asked.

"I don't think she does, Aunt Bee. I think she's a stay – at home wife. I don't know what will happen now since he is out of a job," I said.

"That poor family," Aunt Bee said, feeling sorry for the Clines.

"Don't you know it, Aunt Bee," I said.

Opie finally came downstairs with his backpack.

"I'm ready, Pa," Opie said.

"Maybe you'll want to talk to Pastor Tucker about this," Aunt Bee said.

"That's not such a bad idea, Aunt Bee. Maybe I'll pay him a visit," I said as the two of us said good – bye to Aunt Bee and were out of the house.

"What were you talking about, Pa?" Opie asked as I got into the car and Opie in the passenger's seat.

"Sheriff Cline," I said.

"What about Sheriff Cline?" Opie asked.

"He ain't sheriff anymore, Op. I'm going out to Milwaukee and visit him pretty soon since he ain't coming out here to Mayberry like he had planned," I said.

"That's too bad, Pa," Opie said.

"I know it is. He ain't coming because he got sick with severe depression," I said to Opie.

"What's that?" Opie asked.

"I don't know," I said.

"Is that something new?" Opie asked.

"I guess so because I know we've never heard of it. Must be a new disease," I said.

"Could be. Should we ask around the town and see if they have heard of it?" Opie asked.

"No, Op," I said.

"How are we going to know about this disease if we don't know anything about it?" Opie asked.

"I don't know," I answered as we parked in front of the high school.

"Here we are, Op. I'll see you later. Have a good day now," I said as I watched Opie get his backpack and get out of the squad car.

"Bye, Pa," Opie said and was out of the car.

I watched until Opie was safely in the high school and then I drove off to the office.

I saw that Barney was already at the sheriff's office once I walked inside the office that morning.

"Hi, Barney," I said when I walked inside the office.

"Hi, Ange," Barney said.

"There was a message for you, Ange," Barney said.

"There is? From who?" I asked.

"Your sheriff friend. What's his name?" Barney asked.

"Cline," I said.

"Right. I forgot his name," Barney said.

"What did Cline want?" I asked.

"He wanted to talk to you about your coming out to Milwaukee," Barney said.

"Thanks, Barn. I'll give him a call," I said and picked up the call and dialed the Clines' house number.

The one thing Barney didn't know was that Sheriff Cline was no longer a sheriff of Milwaukee because of his having depression. I listened to the telephone ring for the next three times before I got Terry Cline on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Terry Cline said.

"Hi, Terry. May I speak to Jeremy?" I asked.

"Who is this?" Terry asked.

She didn't recognize my voice.

"Andy Taylor from Mayberry," I said.

"One minute. I'll see if Jeremy is awake," Terry said.

"All right," I said.

I didn't know if he was calling at a wrong time that morning. Terry went upstairs to their bedroom.

"Jeremy? You feel like talking on the phone? It's your friend from Mayberry. What's that name again? Taylor?" Terry asked.

Sheriff Cline looked at her from the covers. He was still sleepy but not ready to get out of bed.

"Andy's on the phone? I'll get out in a couple of minutes, Terry," Sheriff Cline said.

"All right," she said on her way out of the bedroom.

Terry remembered her husband always had a hard time getting out of bed every morning because he always went to work late in the mornings. She knew it was part of his depression that he went to work late in the day but since he left work sick a couple days ago, he was replaced by a twenty – something police officer to could make better decisions than her husband could. She heard the new sheriff's name was Larry Nelson and Sheriff Nelson had shut down the cold case.

"One minute, Sheriff Taylor," Terry Cline told me.

"Thanks, Terry," I said.

I started working on more paperwork while I waited for Jeremy Cline to get on the telephone. I thought it sounded like forever to hear my longtime friend's voice on the telephone. It sounded like maybe fifteen to twenty minutes for Sheriff Cline to get on the telephone, I thought.

"Sorry, Andy. I had to get dressed," Sheriff Cline said.

"That's all right, Jeremy. I was getting started with some paperwork," I said.

"My wife tells me you called," Sheriff Cline said.

"I thought we could talk about my coming out to Milwaukee," I said.

"Okay," Sheriff Cline said.

"When would be a good time for you and your family to see me in Milwaukee, Jeremy? I know you said you ain't sheriff anymore," I said.

"Whatever works for you, Andy. My kids are still in school, so whatever works for you to come out. Do you have hotel reservations?" Jeremy Cline asked.

"Not yet. I thought we'd talk about it before I make plans," I said.

"I see. Or, if you think is better, you could always sleep in our one guest room. We have a guest room big enough for one person," Sheriff Cline said.

"What does your wife think of the invite?" I asked.

"I haven't talked with her about it yet," he said.

"I think you should talk with her first before asking me," I said.

"The invite is open before I talk with her about it, Andy. We can keep talking about when you're going to come out here in Milwaukee so we can talk more about this case. I know it needs to be shut down for good. I know I'm no longer sheriff but it needs to be shut down. So you'd know, we have a young sheriff who took my place a couple days ago. He shut the cold case down," Sheriff Cline told me.

"What is his name?" I asked.

"I heard from my wife it's by the name of Larry Nelson. I haven't met him but we just know the name," Sheriff Cline said.

"Why would he shut the case down?" I asked.

"That's what I'd like to know. I want to keep it open, even if we have a new sheriff. I'll talk to Karen about it when I see her again," Sheriff Cline asked.

"Who's Karen?" I asked.

"My former deputy. She was Andy's age but she is the one I put on the case recently," Sheriff Cline said.

The two friends talked for a bit longer and Sheriff Cline put the phone back in its place before I could put the phone back. Barney watched me shake my head.

"Why did you shake your head for, Ange?" Barney asked.

"Nothing," I said.

I didn't want to tell Barney about the telephone call yet.

"I'm going to church for a while, Barn. Would you mind staying put here at the office for a while?" I asked.

"Sure, Ange. Why are you going to church for? It's not even Sunday," Barney said.

"I want to talk to Pastor Tucker about Sheriff Cline. Cline isn't sheriff of Milwaukee anymore. He worked until he got sick," I said.

"You're kidding. Is he retired?" Barney asked.

"No, he ain't retired, Barn. He got diagnosed with severe depression and a sleeping disorder that made him leave work. I've got to go to the church," I said.

"Okay," Barney said and watched me leave.

Barney did see a worried look on my face as he watched me leave the sheriff's office. Barney went to the nearest jail cell and got on his knees and prayed. He had a feeling since he didn't know Sheriff Jeremy Cline he should pray for my sick friend. A few minutes I was out of the office, Barney was busy in prayer he didn't hear anyone come into the office.

"Is Sheriff Taylor in?" a voice asked.

Barney didn't even hear the man ask a question since he was busy in prayer.

"Excuse me!" the man said a bit louder.

Barney still didn't hear the man.

"Deputy!" the man screamed a lot louder so Barney could hear him.

Barney finally got up from prayer and was now on his knees. He turned around and saw the anger in the man's eyes.

"What exactly were you doing over there?" the angry man asked.

"There are no prisoners," the man said.

"I know there aren't any prisoners, sir. I was doing something else," Barney said.

"Where you looking for a lost penny?" the man asked.

"No. No coins were on the floor, either, sir. I was talking to the good Lord up there," Barney said, pointing to the sky.

"Can't you pick a good time to do that somewhere else. Maybe the church?" the man asked.

"I always talk to the Lord, even when I'm not at church. I talk to Him here at the jail when Andy's out. What can I do for you, sir?" Barney asked.

"Is Sheriff Taylor here?" the man asked.

"No, sir. He went to the church, but I'm not sure when he'll return. May I do something for you?" Barney asked.

"No, thanks, deputy. It's Sheriff Taylor's business. Is Sheriff Taylor doing police work at the church?" the man asked.

"No. Just talking with the pastor about something," Barney said.

"I'll wait until he gets back then," the man said.

"Have it your way," Barney said.

"That's what I plan to do," the man said.

Barney said no more.


	12. Chapter 9, Part 4

At the church, Pastor Tucker and I were talking about Sheriff Cline.

"Tell me a little about your friend, Andy. I need to know about this friend of yours so I would know what to pray for," Tucker said.

I cleared my throat.

"He and his family have gone through a hard twelve years, Pastor. First his deputy got murdered and the case has been going on for twelve years and once the deputy was murdered my friend was in a car accident and got his license suspended for life and now his family and friends have to drive him. Also around that time he developed a couple of health issues," I said.

"That's some story, Andy. It's a good thing he didn't get killed in the accident. Is this why you're here in my office?" Tucker asked.

"Part of it. The reason I came in is because I wanted you to pray for him and his family. He did develop a sleeping disorder and has severe depression," I said.

"I will pray for the family, Andy. What is their name?" Tucker asked.

"Cline," I said.

"Thank you, Andy. How is your friend doing since he was diagnosed with these problems?" Tucker asked.

"I am not sure because he won't tell me," I said.

"I don't even know what severe depression is," I told Pastor Tucker.

"It's a disease, Andy. Just like any other illness, you need to take certain medicines for it," Pastor Tucker said.

I didn't say anything. I did feel sorry for Sheriff Cline.

"I want you to do something for me," Tucker told Andy.

"What?" I asked.

"I want updates on your friend. I want to know how he's progressing with this depression he's been having. The more you talk with him, the more updates I have. I remember when you came in here when Opie got punished. How is he coming along?" Tucker asked.

"Fine, just fine. He's still grounded," I said.

"I am still praying for Opie. I will stop once he isn't grounded anymore," Tucker told me.

"All right. Sounds like a plan. I will give you updates on my friend. I will be going out-of-town soon and visit him in Milwaukee. When I come back, you will be updated," I said.

"Sounds like a plan," Pastor Tucker said.

"If I talk to Barney when I'm out in Milwaukee, you might be updated sooner than that. If I ask him to talk to you and give you my message about my friend, then you will be updated," I said.

"That can work too," Tucker said.

That's when I left the office and went back to the squad car and drove back to the sheriff's office.


	13. Chapter 9, Part 5

"I don't want to," he said, getting up from the pillow.

"I don't blame you, Jeremy, but it's time," she said.

"You know what's going to happen once I put those pills in my mouth? I'm going to get another headache," he complained.

Terry Cline didn't say anything and gave him his medicine. He swallowed and gagged after drinking the water his wife had in her hand.

"Your mouth is dry," Terry said.

"I know it is. It's been dry every day I wake up, thanks to this machine," he said.

"By the way, Jeremy, we have a counseling appointment coming up. It is the day Andy comes," Terry said.

"I hate those counseling sessions, Terry. They are no help," Sheriff Cline said.

"I find them helpful," she said.

"Maybe you do, but I sure don't."

Terry left the master bedroom and went back downstairs. She turned the TV set on and found a commercial break before the morning news came on. It was talking about a new antidepressant that just came out. It caught her attention so she watched the commercial. She started making breakfast for herself and Sheriff Cline as the commercial break was ending. She heard her husband get up from bed and turn the shower on.

"Just what he needs," she said to herself.

After Sheriff Cline was out of the shower, he joined her in the kitchen. The two of them ate in silence as the morning news chatted away.

"What time is our session?" Sheriff Cline asked, thinking of their marriage counselor, Bob Mason.

"Dr. Mason said one o'clock in the afternoon," Terry answered.

After they finished breakfast, Sheriff Cline excused himself and went to the nearest telephone and called me at the sheriff's office in Mayberry. He knew it was a workday for me.

He heard Barney's voice over the phone say, "Sheriff's office. Fife speaking."

"Is Sheriff Taylor in?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"Who is this?" Barney asked.

"Jeremy Cline," Sheriff Cline said.

"Hold on for a minute," Barney said.

Barney put the phone down and went to look for me.

"Ange, you have a phone call. Somebody by the name of Jeremy Cline," Barney said.

"Thanks, Barn," I said, following Barney to my desk.

"Hi, Jeremy," I said once I picked up the phone.

"Hi, Andy. My wife and I talked about when would be a good time for you to come out," Sheriff Cline said.

"You did? When?" I asked.

"This week. We thought the end of this week sounded fine. You are welcome to sleep in the guest room," Sheriff Cline said.

"Sounds nice, Jeremy. I'll be sure to get ready for the trip at the end of this week. Maybe Thursday or Friday I'll be in Milwaukee," I said.

"All right. We'll be sure to expect you then," Sheriff Cline said.

One thing I didn't know was that the Clines were more up – to – date than Mayberry was. What I would be seeing at my friend's house was remote controls, cell phones, MP3 players, iPods and a lot of other electronics he had never seen before. Later that afternoon, I told Aunt Bee Iwould be going to Milwaukee first thing the next morning.

"So soon? I'd better get your stuff packed tonight if you're planning on leaving right away, Andy. How long do you plan on coming back?" Aunt Bee asked.

"I don't know. I'll call when I plan on returning," I said.

"All right," Aunt Bee said.

"And Barney will take care of protecting Mayberry while I'm gone, so he'll be acting sheriff," I said.

"Does he know you're going to be gone first thing in the morning?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Yes, he does," I said.

"Okay," Aunt Bee said.

* * *

"Andy said he'll be here this afternoon," Sheriff Cline told his wife the following Wednesday morning.

"All right. Then we have the appointment this afternoon then," Terry reminded him.

She heard her husband groan. Afternoon arrived pretty quickly. One o'clock arrived and the Clines were at the counseling office with Dr. Mason.

"I'm so glad you could come," he said as Sheriff Cline and Terry walked into the office.

He shut the door behind them and they took a seat on the couch.

"Tell me how things have been since our last session," Dr. Mason said.

Terry spoke up first.

"Well, Dr., everything is going fine. In case you haven't heard lately, we have a new sheriff in town," Terry said.

"I haven't heard. Tell me what happened," Dr. Bob Mason said, taking his glasses off and washed them.

"You tell him, Jeremy. It was your job," Terry whispered to her husband.

Mr. Mason heard what she had whispered.

"Any depressive issues that caused you to leave work and the town have a new officer to protect the town?" Dr. Mason asked. Sheriff Cline cleared his throat and began.

"No. I just wasn't thinking clearly enough at work on a case I was working on. Ever since I was diagnosed with severe depression and this sleeping disorder, I just haven't been thinking clearly and have fallen asleep at work a lot," Sheriff Cline said.

"I know I've asked this many times, but I'll ask again. Any thoughts of suicide?" Dr. Mason asked.

"No," Sheriff Cline said.

"That's good then. I'll keep asking this question every time we have a session," Dr. Mason said.

"Dr., our sixteen – year – old son has a football game this Saturday. What would you suggest?" Terry asked.

"I'd suggest your husband go to the game. When was the last time you have been to your son's games?" Bob Mason asked Sheriff Cline.

"I can't remember," Sheriff Cline said.

"We're expecting a friend of my husband's from North Carolina, Dr. His friend knows nothing about my husband's condition. What do we tell his friend when he comes?" Terry asked.

"Give him all the information he needs, Mrs. Cline. Get your husband involved in activities with his friend. Something like hiking," Dr. Mason suggested.

"That's a good idea. Maybe we'll do that," Terry said.

* * *

Once the session was over at two o'clock that afternoon, both the Clines paid Dr. Mason and were in the parking lot again. When they got to the house, they found me waiting in the driveway.

"Hi, Jeremy," I said once Sheriff Cline and Terry were both at the door.

"Hi, Andy. How long have you been waiting?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"Not too long. Maybe half an hour or so," I said.

"Sorry we made you wait. We had an appointment in town," Sheriff Cline said.

"I was wondering why I came to an empty house," I said.

"Now you know. Do you need help carrying your things in?" Terry asked.

"I don't have much, but thank you for offering," I said.

"I'll have Jeremy help you carry your things in and show you the guest room," Terry said.

"All right," I said as she unlocked the front door.

The two of us went to the car I drove in and we went to the trunk and got out the suitcase and overnight bag Aunt Bee had packed for me.

"Terry has your room all set for you, Andy. Hope you enjoy your stay. I know our house isn't like yours in Mayberry, but we hope you're comfortable here," Sheriff Cline said.

"I'm sure I will be," I said as the two of us walked into the house.

The two of us went up to the guest room upstairs.

"I hope the house won't be too noisy when the kids are here while you're here, Andy. Sometimes they can be loud when they're home," Sheriff Cline said.

"What do they do that's loud?" I asked.

"Music. Gives me a headache," Sheriff Cline said.

"I'm never home when Opie plays his music," I said.

"You're lucky," Sheriff Cline said.

"You do have a television set in the guest room if you feel like watching television," Sheriff Cline said.

"Thank you, Jeremy. I might do that later," I said.

"You can unpack now if you'd like," Sheriff Cline said as they opened the door to the guest room.

I saw the guest room looked pleasant for guests when they came over to visit. I saw paintings on the walls along with childrens' drawings from the past years.

"We'll leave you alone for a while so you can unpack, Andy. I have something to do downstairs," Sheriff Cline said and closed the guest room door.

I saw there was a bookshelf by the bed I was going to sleep in and it was a three shelf bookshelf. I went over to the bookshelf and saw it had mostly law and medical books in the shelves. I saw the medical books were mostly on depression. I would have never guessed it was on the subject of depression.

"I thought we had a good appointment with Dr. Mason today," I heard Terry say downstairs as she helped her husband with the medications.

Sheriff Cline didn't say anything. I wondered who Dr. Mason was.

"I don't want to talk about Dr. Mason anymore, Terry," Sheriff Cline said as he swallowed the pills and drank some water.

"Where's your friend?" Terry asked.

"In the guest room, unpacking. I told him to unpack first," Sheriff Cline said.

"Good idea," she said.

While looking around the room, I found the TV set on the wall. I tried turning the TV on the way I did at home but got no response from it.

"I get it," I said to myself.

"It don't work."

I went to the suitcase and started to unpack my clothes. While unpacking the clothes from the suitcase and overnight bag, I figured out why the TV didn't turn on the old – fashioned way. I found a remote control on the table by the bed. I wondered what it was. I saw one button read "ON" and the other button "OFF." I also saw some buttons read "1 – "0" and "PLAY," "STOP,", etc.

"What is this thing?" I asked myself.

I knew I'd never seen such a thing like the remote control before. As I finished unpacking the clothes and hanging them up in the closet, I went downstairs and joined Sheriff Cline and his wife.

"You done unpacking already?" Sheriff Cline asked as he saw me enter the kitchen.

"Yes," I said.

"I do have a question about your TV," I said.

"What's that?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"I tried turning the TV on and it didn't. I saw buttons on some weird – looking device that said "ON," "OFF," "PLAY," "STOP," "1 –O. What is that weird – looking device? I've never seen anything like that in Mayberry before," I said.

"It's called a remote control, Andy. Let me show you how it works," Sheriff Cline said and left the kitchen.

"A remote control?" I repeated.

"Yes, sir. You don't use the TV set to turn it on and off anymore like you do in the old days anymore," Sheriff Cline said as we went to the living room. Sheriff Cline found the remote on the coffee table.

"See the on button, Andy? You use it to turn the television," Sheriff Cline said, showing Andy how the remote control worked.

"Well, I'll be darned," I said, surprised that the remote could do such a thing.

"What do you want to watch?" Sheriff Cline asked.

He knew they had several channels. Sheriff Cline found one of his kids' music devices out in the living room.

"Great. Tony!" Sheriff Cline yelled.

Terry came out in the living room.

"What did Tony do?" Terry asked.

"He left this in the living room," Sheriff Cline said.

"His iPod?" Terry asked.

"Yes."

"I'll go put it in his room," Terry said.

"No. Let him do it," Sheriff Cline said.

Sheriff Cline saw the curious look on my face.

"An iPod is when you can listen to music, watch TV and all that other stuff, Andy. The kids play it so loud I get all these headaches," Sheriff Cline said.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said.

"You don't have to be, Andy. Tony and Sara aren't your kids," Sheriff Cline said.

I knew that was true.

While waiting for Tony and Sara's bus to come home, Terry asked, "Andy, how would you like to go to Tony's football game this Saturday with Jeremy and myself? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Sounds like fun. Let me think about it," I said.

"Okay," Terry said.

"Terry, I don't want to go," Sheriff Cline said.

"You never have gone to any of the games since Tony was in middle school, Jeremy. How does Tony feel about you not going? Sara feels the same way about you not going to her concerts," Terry said.

Dinnertime arrived pretty fast that day and the kids were home in time for dinner to be on the table.

The kids didn't hear Terry say to Sheriff Cline, "You heard what the counselor said today, Jeremy. You have to go to the game on Sunday. You're going and that's final. You'll make Tony proud by showing up."

"I still don't want to go," Sheriff Cline said.

"I know how bad your depression is, Jeremy, but you've got to get out of the house and have some fun. Maybe we'll invite Cecil to the game," she said.

Terry remembered Cecil Thomas loved to go to the high school football games.

"I don't care if you invite Cecil or not," Sheriff Cline said.

"Who's Cecil?" I asked.

"He works at the gas station. He's a great mechanic, but really young," Terry said.

"You'll get to meet him Saturday," Terry added.

"Guess I will," I said.

After supper that night, I saw how tired I was.

"I think I'll turn in early tonight," I told Sheriff Cline and Terry.

"Did you have a hard day driving here?" she asked.

"I think so. I guess I'll go to sleep now," I said, yawning a little.

"We'll have more fun tomorrow. Good - night, Andy," she said as the two of them watched him go upstairs to the guest room.

"Good – night," I said and headed for the bathroom upstairs and changed into my pajamas and got under the covers and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, which was Friday, I was up early. I saw the clock by the bed read 6:30 A.M. I heard Terry Cline downstairs with the two teens. I could hear their voices. I saw he couldn't go back to sleep so I was up for the day.

"Not so loud. You'll wake up your father and Mr. Taylor," Andy heard Terry tell Tony and Sara.

"Sorry, Mom," Tony said.

"What time is your game tomorrow, Tony?" Terry asked.

"Early. Right after lunch. One o'clock," Tony said.

"Okay. We'll see you there in the football field," Terry said.

"Okay. I'll be sure to look for you guys," Tony said.

"Mom, I went by to get gas in the car yesterday. I ran into Cecil. He told me he's coming to the game," Tony said.

"All right. That's good," Terry said.

I wondered who this Cecil character was. I got dressed and went to the bathroom and was downstairs after Tony and Sara were on the bus.

"Good morning, Andy. How was your first night here?" Terry asked.

"Just fine, Terry. Couldn't be better," I said.

"That's good," Terry said.

"Did Tony and Sara wake you up?" Terry asked.

"No, they didn't, Terry. I was already up," I said.

"I was worried they would wake you up," Terry said.

"No, they didn't," I said.

"Is there anything you'd like to do today, Andy?" Terry asked.

"Not really," I answered.

"Maybe we could show you around town," Terry said.

"That's fine," I said.

"Maybe today we'll get more gas. The car needs to be filled up. Maybe we'll introduce you to Cecil," Terry said.

"I've wondered who he is since you've mentioned him a few times," I said.

"You'll get your chance, Andy. He's coming to the game tomorrow," Terry said.

"That's fine," I said a second time.

I didn't mind going to a high school football game with a stranger.

"Where do you get your haircuts here, Terry? I was thinking of getting a haircut since I didn't get one before I left," I said.

"We can do that today if you'd like," Terry said.

"Okay," I said.

"We'll take you to Super Cuts this morning. They open at ten," Terry said.

Once I heard the time of the barbershop, I knew it didn't sound like Mayberry to me.

"Who's your barber?" I asked.

"Joseph Miller. He's a nice guy. I'm sure you'll like him," Terry said.

I didn't respond at all.

"We'll try to leave a bit before Joseph opens so you can get your haircut, I usually like to get Jeremy in before all the customers get in so he could get his haircut," Terry said to Andy as she poured him a second cup of coffee.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome," Terry said.

"If you'll excuse me, Andy, I'll have to wake up Jeremy," she said and headed up the stairs.

I watched her carry a couple of bottles in her hands as she headed up the stairs. I could guess they were full of medicine. She opened the bedroom door and saw her husband was already awake. He started to groan as she opened the containers.

"Not those," he said under his breath.

"Yes, these," she said.

"I heard you talking with Andy," he said.

"Yes. We're having a nice chat. I'm going to show him around town this morning. You're coming like our counselor has suggested. Maybe we'll do our hike this afternoon," Terry said.

"I'm not going on the hike. I'm staying in the car," Sheriff Cline said.

"You're going and that's final," she said, "subject closed."

That's when she closed their bedroom door behind herself and was back in the kitchen a couple of minutes later. Sheriff Cline got out of bed and decided to log on the computer for a while to check his e – mail. Before he did, he saw he got his disability check in the mail the other day. He knew it was his first disability check so he hadn't been disabled for long. He knew Terry was the one who talked him into getting disability checks since he was qualified and had most of the symptoms that made him disabled, including his memory.

Sheriff Cline did notice he did get some facebook notices in his e – mails but he would worry about those later.

"How do you feel about hiking today, Andy?" Terry asked.

"Sounds good," I said.

"We'll do that this afternoon before the kids get out of school," Terry said.

"Okay," I said.

* * *

Ididn't mind. The three of us left the house that morning at 9:30. We went to get gas first. I saw Terry talking with a young, skinny, blonde – haired man in his twenties. I saw the man wearing a sports hat.

"Cecil," Terry said to the man in the hat, "Jeremy and I would like you to meet a friend of ours."

"Who?" Cecil asked.

I had a feeling Cecil was a lot like Goober back home in Mayberry. Cecil saw Andy in the backseat.

"Cecil, this is Jeremy's friend back in Mayberry, North Carolina, Any Taylor. Andy, this is our friend, Cecil Thomas," Terry said, making introductions.

"It's nice meeting you, Mr. Taylor," Cecil said.

"It's nice to meet you, Cecil. I've heard a lot about you," I said.

"Nice things, I hope," Cecil said.

"Yes, they are good things. You remind me of somebody I know back home," I said.

"I do? I wonder who that could be," Cecil said.

"Maybe I could meet him sometime," Cecil added.

"Maybe you can. He is a lot like you in a way, Cecil. He is our mechanic back home. He's a fine mechanic," I said.

"I'm sure he is. Are you here for the high school football game tomorrow?" Cecil asked me.

"Yes, I am," I said.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow, then," Cecil said.

"Okay," I said as the car drove away from the gas station.

* * *

We finally made it to Super Cuts. Terry and Jeremy Cline both saw the place was now open.

"I'll take him in this time, Terry," Sheriff Cline said.

"All right, Jeremy. I won't mind waiting," Terry Cline said as she watched her husband walk out of the car and waited for me to climb out of the car.

The two of us walked into the place.

"Hi, Joseph," Sheriff Cline said to the man behind the counter.

"Hi, Jeremy. You here for a haircut?" the man asked.

"I'm not, but a friend of mine would like to get one," Sheriff Cline said.

"Be right with you," the man said.

"Okay," Sheriff Cline said.

"He's our barber, Andy," Sheriff Cline said, reading my thoughts.

"We usually don't have barbers anymore like you do. Times have changed since, Andy. We usually cut our own hair now," Sheriff Cline said.

I didn't reply to my old friend so I just listened to what my friend was saying. I couldn't believe how times had changed since I had kept in touch with Sheriff Cline. Where had the times gone since Cline and I talked? I didn't know the times had gone so fast. The man came back to the counter.

"What's your man, sir?" the man asked me.

"Andy Taylor," I said.

The man typed my name into the computer. I knew I'd never seen such a machine before.

"May I have your phone number and address?" the man asked.

"Don't bother with that, Joseph. He's with me and Terry for a while. He's from Mayberry, North Carolina," Sheriff Cline said.

Joseph Miller gave his friend a questioning look.

"Mayberry is a small town, Joseph. Just do Andy's hair, will you? Terry's waiting in the car," Sheriff Cline said.

"Don't be so pushy, Jeremy," Joseph said.

"Follow me, Andy," Joseph said.

I followed him.

"Tell me a little about you, Mr. Taylor," the barber said.

"Call me Andy, please," I said.

"Okay, Andy," Joseph said as I told him what he wanted with my hair.

I told Joseph a little about myself while Joseph did my hair.

"Very interesting, Andy. Are you sheriff like Jeremy?" Joseph asked, spraying water on my hair a couple of times.

"I am. We don't get much crime in Mayberry," I said.

"We do get lots of crime around here. I'm sure Jeremy has told you about the men and women he's caught here in Milwaukee," Joseph said.

"Women? I never catch women in Mayberry. Except one," I said, remembering the woman I caught for speeding and I had to lock her up.

"You can do better than one woman, Andy. The women prisoners can be pretty exciting once you catch them. The men ain't that exciting as the women. We do have a town druggie that is on drugs. He says his favorite illegal drug is heroine," Joseph said.

"You mean to tell me you have a town druggie that does illegal drugs? That is against the law, you know," I told Joseph.

"The thing with him is that he doesn't take the high doses," Joseph said.

"Still, that ain't right," I said.

"I know it ain't," Joseph said, "but I have no clue why he chose to do illegal drugs."

I could tell that Joseph Miller sounded a lot like Floyd Lawson back in Milwaukee after chatting with the barber back home.

"Did you lock the robbers that came here, Joseph?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"Robbers? I don't think I know what you're talking about, Jeremy," Joseph said.

Andy didn't know what the two were talking about.

"You know, Joseph. The robbers that robbed the real estate agent and this place. Were you able to find them?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"I couldn't find them because they had masks on, Jeremy. How could you find the robbers' faces if they had masks on? That don't make sense at all," Joseph said.

"I have no idea if they are behind bars now or if they still have my money," Joseph told Sheriff Cline, "but I'm not sure if Karen is still on this case or not. Who knows?"

Joseph cleared his throat and started again.

"How did you know about the real estate and this place being robbed, Jeremy?" Joseph asked.

"I read about it in the newspaper," Sheriff Cline said.

"You ain't sheriff anymore. How would you know about this place being robbed if you ain't sheriff no more?" Joseph asked.

"Reading the paper. How else? I also have the television to tell me what's going on with the sheriff's office. That's how I keep up with the ongoing cases," Sheriff Cline told the barber.

Joseph was finally finished cutting my hair and I rejoined Sheriff Cline at the counter so we could pay for the haircut.

"You remind me of somebody back home in Mayberry, Joseph. Our barber sounds a lot like you," I said.

"Does he? Does he cut hair too?" Joseph asked, interested.

"You bet he does. His name is Floyd. I'm sure the two of you would get along just fine," I told Joseph.

"Really? I'd have to meet him sometime then, but this place just gets so darn busy you can hardly get any time off," Joseph said.

"Floyd ain't busy as you," I said as we paid Joseph and thanked him on our way out after the two of us said nice to meet you as well out of the door.

"Come again, Andy," Joseph said and watched us leave.

"Why didn't you tell me your jail has women prisoners, Jeremy?" I asked as we got into the car.

"I just didn't, Andy. That's how Joseph gets sometimes. He can have a big mouth," Sheriff Cline said.

"So I noticed," Andy said as they put their seatbelts on and said hello to Terry Cline again.

"You look nice, Andy. What do you think of Joseph?" she asked.

"Andy thought he sounded a lot like his barber back in Mayberry. He said the same thing to Cecil," Sheriff Cline.

"I had no idea our townspeople sounded like your people back home," Terry told me as the car started up.

"Some of them do," I said.

* * *

We drove around town the rest of the day so I could do some sightseeing around Milwaukee. It was finally time to go home so we could be in time for the kids to come into the house after their after school activities. I saw the time in the car read 3:30 that afternoon. I couldn't believe how fast the day had passed. I could care less about learning about Milwaukee. I knew this place isn't my kind of place to live.

Saturday finally arrived and one o'clock was finally here. Tony was in the locker room with the other players, getting dressed for the game. He knew his parents were already out on the benches outside, waiting for the game to start. He was happy that his mother talked his father into going to the game because of his father's depression and his father hadn't been to his games since he was in the eighth grade. He remembered they were playing against New Jersey that day and New Jersey had flown to Milwaukee to play his school that day.

Tony was ready to beat New Jersey today since New Jersey was a bad school. Tony knew his father's friend, whatever his name was, was sitting out there with his parents and Cecil. He had heard that his father's friend had met Cecil at the gas station that week. The game finally started after the national anthem was over, which Sara and her choir class had sung for the game.

"Hi, Andy," Cecil Thomas said, sitting closer to where I was sitting on the bench.

"Hi, Cecil," I said, seeing Cecil with the high school logo on the hat he was wearing.

"Nice hat," I said.

"Thanks. It's my favorite hat. I wear it all the time. I don't wear it to church. You're allowed to wear hats when you go to church, but I always leave my hat in the car when I go," Cecil said.

That was another thing I never heard of since I lost contact with Sheriff Cline. I didn't reply to Cecil.

"What church do you go to?" I asked.

"The Church of Messiah," Cecil said.

I found that an interesting name for a church.

"Do you know what this church of mine does?" Cecil asked me.

"No. What?" I said.

"My pastor sends needy people five thousand dollars every single week. She does that because she wants to try to find a cure for their health," Cecil said.

"Interesting. Where does she get the money so send to the needy people each week?" I asked.

"Ask her that. I'm not a minister," Cecil said, "but she is an admirable person."

Throughout the game, I had to listen to Cecil jabber the time because he wouldn't be quiet. I wanted to watch the game. I whispered to Sheriff Cline, "Will you tell Cecil to be quiet? I want to watch the game."

"I will," Sheriff Cline whispered back.

"Cecil?" Sheriff Cline said.

"What?" Cecil asked, looking in Sheriff Cline's direction.

"Would you mind being quiet for a chance? We're trying to watch the game. When the game's over, you can talk again," Sheriff Cline said.

"Okay," Cecil said.

"Thanks, Jeremy," I whispered.

"You're welcome," Sheriff Cline whispered back.

A couple of hours had flown by and Milwaukee was winning. After the game was over, Milwaukee had won the game by fifteen points. Tony ran to where his parents were sitting and they congratulated him.

"Thanks," Tony said.

He was feeling dirty.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. I want to get cleaned up," Tony said.

"All right, Tony. We'll wait," Terry Cline said as they watched him head for the locker room.

It didn't take Tony long to get cleaned up and rejoin Cecil and his parents.

"Great game, Tony. I've got to get going. I'll see you some other time," Cecil said, standing up.

"Glad you could make it, Cecil. We'll get together again," Terry said.

"Next time it's at my house," Cecil said as he stood up to leave the family.

"We should do that," Terry said.

"Call me," he said and left the school.

* * *

The Clines and I drove to the house. We decided to eat dinner early that night. I did notice while eating dinner that night my friend wasn't eating anything from his plate.

"Are you all right, Jeremy? You're not eating anything," I said.

"That's one of the signs of depression, Andy. He does this a lot," Terry Cline told me.

After supper was over, the family went into the living room and turned the television on and watched some TV for a while except for me. I thought I'd spend some time alone for a change and let the Clines be together without me for the night. I didn't mind that, that's for sure.

"I'm going to my bedroom. I'll see you in the morning," I said.

"Don't you want to join the party?" Terry asked.

"I'm fine upstairs. I'm kind of tired," I said.

"All right. We'll see you in the morning then, Andy. Did you like meeting Cecil and Joseph?" Terry asked.

"I did. I'll see you in the morning," I said.

Sheriff Cline watched Andy head up the stairs.

"Night, Andy," Sheriff Cline said.

"Night, Jeremy," I said and headed up to my bedroom and opened the door and let myself in and shut it again.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Tony was silent. The school bus headed for the house and Terry watched Tony and Sara climb on and she said good – bye to the two teens as they waved good – bye on their way out of the house.

"Jeremy, can we talk?" I asked.

"About what, Andy?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"The cold case," I said.

"What about it? I'm not sheriff anymore," Sheriff Cline reminded me.

"I know that. There's something about it you should know," I said.

"All right. Let's go somewhere where we can have a private talk," Sheriff Cline said as he finished eating breakfast.

Terry was happy to see her husband eating that morning. She knew it had been years since he had eaten a full meal.

"Why don't we take a walk, Jeremy?" I asked.

"I don't feel like it," Sheriff Cline said.

"Andy wants to take a walk, Jeremy. It'll make you feel better if you did. You haven't exercised in years. It'll do you good," Terry said.

"All right but I won't feel any better," Sheriff Cline said.

"Andy doesn't know his way around Milwaukee, so you go with him," Terry said.

"All right, Terry," Sheriff Cline said.

"You should know by now that exercise is good for depression, Jeremy. You should have done this twelve years ago," Terry said.

"Who cares?" Sheriff Cline said carelessly, sipping his coffee.

"The doctor cares and I care," Terry Cline said.

Sheriff Cline stood up from the kitchen table and he followed me out of the kitchen.

"Let's go on your walk, Andy," Sheriff Cline said as we for the living room.

"We'll be back later, Terry," Sheriff Cline said.

"All right. Take your time, Jeremy," she said as she watched the two men walk out of the front door.

"Tell me about the case," Sheriff Cline said.

"I think there's something you should know," I said.

"What is there to know? We've looked through the case twelve years straight and there's nothing more we can do," Sheriff Cline said.

"Yes, there is," I said.

"What?" he asked.

"Remember when you asked me for help, Jeremy? You told me there were no witnesses to the case. It turns out there is a witness after all," I said.

"There is? Who could that be?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"How do you know there's a star witness in this case, Andy? How?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"Let's just say a birdie told me, Jeremy. Remember when Mayberry High played against your boy's school?" I asked.

"Sure, I remember. Why?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"The birdie told me that the star witness told the birdie that he was the one who was there on the morning of June tenth when your deputy was killed," I said.

"Just who is this star witness that told this birdie of yours?" Sheriff Cline asked cluelessly.

"The birdie is my son Opie, Jeremy. Opie talked to the star witness after the football game was over. Opie told me when he came back home from the game," I said.

"Just tell me who the star witness is!" Sheriff Cline said.

"It's somebody you're going to have to talk to. A member of your family," I said, giving Sheriff Cline a hint.

"Someone in my family was the witness who watched Andy get killed? Can't be!" Sheriff Cline said.

"It's true, Jeremy. You're going to listen to his story," I said.

"You said 'he'? You can't mean my son," Sheriff Cline said.

"That's right, Jeremy. You're going to talk to Tony tonight," I said.

"Tony can't be the star witness to the murder!" Sheriff Cline said surprised.

"Well, that's what Opie said."

"This can't be true!" Sheriff Cline kept saying.

"Why didn't he tell me right away that he was the witness?" Sheriff Cline asked, repeating the questions.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. I didn't answer my friend but kept listening to his friend repeating the questions over and over. That was when the walk was over. We walked into the house when Sheriff Cline was repeating the questions.

"What is it, Jeremy?" Terry Cline asked.

"Can't be, Andy!" Sheriff Cline said.

"It's true, Jeremy," Andy said.

"What's true?" Terry asked.

"Let Jeremy tell you," I said.

"Terry, Andy was telling me that our son is the star witness to Andy's murder!" Sheriff Cline yelled surprisingly.

"What!" she said.

"Ask Andy," Sheriff Cline said.

"Is this true, Andy?" Terry asked.

"Yes, Terry. My son Opie told me since they talked at the game when Opie came out here to play against your boy and your boy was the one who broke the news to my son about his being the witness to the murder twelve years ago," I said.

"Can't be!" both husband and wife said, surprised.

"It's true," I said.

"And you will talk to Tony about this tonight," I said.

"We will," Terry said.

"No. Jeremy and Tony will since it was Jeremy's case to begin with. Once Tony comes home from football practice, you two will sit down and talk," I said.

"Sounds like a good idea," Terry said.

At supper that night, Sheriff Cline said to Tony, "The two of us are going to have a talk."

"About what, Dad?" Tony asked.

"About what happened twelve years ago to Andy. I want to hear everything."

"How did you find out I was there on the morning he died, Dad?" Tony asked, surprised.

"Let's just say a birdie told me," Sheriff Cline said.

"My question is why didn't you come to me right away when Andy died that morning, Tony? It would have been a lot easier that way instead of waiting twelve years later," Sheriff Cline said.

"I couldn't then, Dad. You were busy with the crime scene investigators and after that, you were busy being depressed so I couldn't," Tony said.

"If you told me right away I wouldn't have had depression or my license taken away for life. Start your story," Sheriff Cline said.

"It's a long story, Dad," Tony said.

"I'm going to hear every word," Sheriff Cline said.

Tony gulped and cleared his throat. He didn't know where to begin.

"You're not on the force anymore, Dad. Why do you want to hear such a long story?" Tony asked.

"I don't care if I'm no longer on the force, Tony. I just care what happened to Andy. Start your story," Sheriff Cline said.

Sheriff Cline watched as Terry, me and Sara left the kitchen.

"Andy, stay here. I want you in on this," Sheriff Cline said.

"No. It's a father and son talk," I said.

"Come on, Andy. I asked you to help me on this case so you're involved on this talk," Sheriff Cline said.

"Do what he asks, Andy," Terry said.

"All right, Terry, but he's your son," I said and the women left the kitchen.

"Start talking," Sheriff Cline told his sixteen – year – old son.

"Just what exactly what happened to Andy, Tony?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"Don't get depressed if I tell, Dad," Tony said.

Tony gulped and cleared his throat a second time. He didn't know how to begin his story.

"I'm listening," Sheriff Cline said.

"Tell me what you were doing at the crack of dawn when Andy was killed, Tony. That would be a great start," Sheriff Cline said.

Tony drank some more of his milk he had with that night's meal.

"Where you anywhere near the patrol car, Tony?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"No, Dad. I never touched the patrol car, Dad. It had too much blood on the car. I would never in a million years touch evidence," Tony said.

"Good. I can't believe a four – year – old would be smart enough not to touch evidence," Sheriff Cline said.

"Dad, it was scary to see Andy get murdered. He didn't have a gun with him," Tony said.

"That I know. He would've been more careful. Was he robbed when he was murdered?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"The barbershop and the real estate agency were robbed recently," Sheriff Cline said.

"I didn't know about Joseph being robbed, Dad," Tony said.

"Just answer my question. Was Andy robbed when he was murdered?" Sheriff Cline asked a second time.

"Yes," Tony said.

Both Sheriff Cline and I looked at each other.

"Did the robbers steal Andy's wallet? What did they do?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"I was hiding in the bushes, Dad. They had masks on so I couldn't identify what they looked like. I think they took Andy's wallet. They had guns, of course. They shot Andy about three times right through the patrol car's window. I was scared when they pulled the trigger three times," Tony said.

"Tony, that's second degree murder you're talking about that happened to Andy plus his being robbed," Sheriff Cline said.

"I know, Dad. I know what second degree murder is," Tony said.

"That night of June tenth, Tony, you realize Andy was due for dinner at his parents' house. He never made it because of second degree murder," Sheriff Cline said.

"Dad, after they pulled the trigger three times, they ran off. I think they took all his money he had in his wallet he had. I think they took his credit cards in there," Tony said.

"We did notice the credit cards and cash were gone in the wallet, Tony. That we knew," Sheriff Cline said.

"What I'd like to know what the murders looked like," Sheriff Cline told his son.

"Dad, I heard the murderers talking when they murdered Andy. I couldn't hear the conversation since I was far away from them," Tony said.

"What did their voice sound like?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"The voices were deep," Tony answered.

"That tells us something, Andy," Sheriff Cline said.

"It does," I said.

I was quiet the entire time my friend was asking Tony questions about the morning of the murder.

"Think hard and see if you can remember what the robbers were wearing, Tony. It's important. We need to put them behind bars for life," Sheriff Cline told his son.

"Let me think, Dad," Tony said.

"After you think, I'm going to ask Joseph the same question," Sheriff Cline said.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Why? I want to see if it matches your answer so we can put these guys behind bars for the rest of their lives for first degree murder, Tony. That's why!" Sheriff Cline said.

Tony was silent for a long time because he was trying to remember what the robbers were wearing twelve years ago.

"I remember now, Dad," Tony said after about thirty minutes of silence.

"What? What? Tell me," Sheriff Cline said.

"They had masks on their faces. One guy was fat and another was skinny. The fat guy was wearing blue jeans, a belt with the jeans, black shoes that were size ten, also a black hat, and the shirt was black with blue stripes," Tony said, describing what the fat man was wearing.

"What was he? African-American? White? Native American? What?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"I think he was Native American," Tony said.

"How old did you think the fat guy was to you, Tony?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"I couldn't tell, Dad. If he had the mask off it would be easier to tell," Tony said.

"Okay. The clothes are good enough," Sheriff Cline said as I wrote down the description of the fat robber.

"Thanks, Andy," Sheriff Cline said.

"You're welcome, Jeremy," I said.

"Now tell me about the other guy. What was he wearing on the day Andy was murdered?" Sheriff Cline asked.

That's when they were interrupted by the doorbell. The we heard Karen McCarey in the living room with Terry Cline and Sara.

"He's in the kitchen, Karen. Why don't you come on in? I'll see if he'll want to visit with you for a few minutes," Terry said.

"All right," Karen said.

"That's Karen. She was my former deputy," Sheriff Cline told me.

I saw the thirty – year – old redhead policewoman.

"She sounds pleasant," I said.

"She is, Andy. She is Andy's age," Sheriff Cline said.

Terry walked into the kitchen.

"Jeremy, Karen's here. She wants to say hello," Terry said.

"Bring her in," Sheriff Cline said.

"All right," Terry said.

"Can I leave, Dad?" Tony asked.

"I have a test tomorrow."

"Not until we're done talking about the other murderer," Sheriff Cline said.

That's when Karen McCarey walked in.

"Hi, Jeremy," Karen said.

"Hi, Karen. Where is Williams?" he asked. He saw that Karen was alone.

"We're off duty, Jeremy. I don't need to be with an officer twenty – four hours straight," Karen said.

Karen saw Andy in the kitchen with her former employer and his son.

"I didn't know you had company," she said.

"Well, he's an old friend, Karen. I hope you're not planning on staying here longer," Sheriff Cline said.

"No. Why?" Karen said.

I spoke up.

"He thinks he has this cold case just about solved, that's why," I said.

"What? What am I missing out? You're not sheriff anymore," Karen reminded him.

"I know I'm not. We had a missing link to the case," Sheriff Cline said.

"What was the missing link?" Karen asked.

Sheriff Cline gave his son a look.

"A witness, Karen. We didn't have a witness to the case. Our witness was him," Sheriff Cline said, giving his son a look.

"Your son?" Karen asked, seeing the look Sheriff Cline was giving his son.

"Bingo," Sheriff Cline said.

"He was four years old back then, Jeremy! How could he remember things back then? He was just a child!" Karen said.

"He's telling me stuff we didn't have info on, Karen. He's our only witness," Sheriff Cline said.

"This can't be true," Karen said, surprised at this kind of information.

"Well, it is," Sheriff Cline said.

"Gosh, I never knew this sort of thing would happen, Jeremy. I'm sorry," Karen said.

He didn't say anything.

"Karen, do me a favor, will you?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"What?"

"Don't do this yet, but once Tony and I are done with our talk, I want you to call Joseph and ask him this question for me. I want to see if it matches Tony's description," Sheriff Cline said.

"What description are you talking about?" Karen asked.

"Of the robbers that murdered Andy twelve years ago," Sheriff Cline said.

"I want to know if those were the same robbers that robbed the real estate agency and Joseph," Sheriff Cline said.

"I see where you're getting at now, Jeremy. I'll stay longer," Karen said.

"Good," he said.

"Tell us, Tony. What did the other murderer wear on the morning of June tenth?" Sheriff Cline asked.

We heard the clock chime nine o'clock.

"I'm going to fail my Spanish test tomorrow, Dad. I've got to start studying," Tony said.

"Not until you tell us what the skinny man was wearing, Tony. Then you can start studying," Sheriff Cline said.

Tony sighed and finished the rest of his warm milk and gulped a third time. Karen could tell the Cline boy was nervous. She wondered if he was nervous this whole time Sheriff Cline was asking questions.

Tony thought for a while and then replied, "The skinny man wore matching clothes, Dad. I think they're related."

"You may be dismissed, Tony. Thank you for the information," Sheriff Cline said.

"Thanks, Dad," Tony said.

Sheriff Cline, Andy, and Karen McCarey watched Tony leave the kitchen.

"I'm going to my room, Mom," Tony said.

"How did it go with your father and Mr. Taylor?" Terry asked.

"Fine. I need to study for my Spanish test tomorrow," Tony said.

"All right," Terry said and watched her sixteen – year – old son head up the stairs.

"Karen, go call Joseph at home now and ask him about the robbers that were at the barbershop recently. I want to know if they matched Tony's description," Sheriff Cline said.

He handed Karen the piece of paper I was writing on.

"Thanks, Andy," Sheriff Cline said.

He kept his eyes on Karen as she dialed the barber's home telephone number. Both Sheriff Cline and Andy listened to Karen's phone conversation with Joseph Miller. A couple of minutes later, Karen hung up the phone.

"What did he say?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"It looks like his description is one hundred percent positive, Jeremy. It does match Tony's description," Karen said.

The we looked at each other.

"Let's not waste our time, Karen. Get the patrol car now and let's go get them," Sheriff Cline said.

"What about him? He's not from here, is he?" Karen asked, giving me the eye.

"No, he's not, but he can come. I asked him to help on this case and he deserves credit. He's an officer from Mayberry, North Carolina," Sheriff Cline said.

"Interesting," Karen said.

"Terry, don't wait up. We're going to catch those murderers that murdered Andy," Sheriff Cline said.

"Good luck, Jeremy. You don't have your badge anymore," Terry reminded him.

"Who cares? I can still catch them," he said.

The three officers went to Karen's car and drove away from the Cline residence and headed for town with sirens on.

"You'll get your name in the paper, Andy. I know you don't live here, but you deserve some credit," Sheriff Cline said.

"No, I don't, Jeremy. This is your case," I said.

"We know that, Andy. You helped me find the star witness, didn't you? That was something I would never be able to do with the case," Sheriff Cline said.

They were finally in town. It took them a while to find the identifications of the robbers that murdered Deputy Jones twelve years ago.

"There they are!" Karen said.

"They're headed for the bank!" she said.

Sheriff Cline and I saw the two men were headed for First National Bank.

"Not First National," Sheriff Cline groaned.

The three off us got out of the patrol car as fast as they could and ran to the bank.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Deputy Andrew Jones," Sheriff Cline said to the two men with the masks on.

"Who are you?" the fat man asked.

"Sheriff Jeremy Cline," Sheriff Cline said.

"Where's your badge?" the skinny man asked.

"I'm former sheriff," he said.

"We'd like to see some proof you're from the force," the skinny man said.

"I was the law, but I have backup," Sheriff Cline said, looking at Andy and Karen McCarey.

Both Karen and I showed the robbers our badges. The robbers saw the badge from North Carolina.

"You're from Mayberry? What's a mayberry?" the fat guy asked.

"It's a small town," I said.

"What kind of crime do you get there?" the fat guy asked.

"Hardly none," I said.

"You're under arrest for first degree murder of killing a deputy sheriff and robbery," Sheriff Cline told the murderers.

He watched Karen as she handcuffed the murderers.

"You have the right to remain silent," Sheriff Cline added.

The three of us put the two murderers in the backseat of the car. Sheriff Cline couldn't believe they finally caught the murderers after twelve long years. I didn't mind sitting in the backseat with the murderers since the front seat was already full. At the jail, Sheriff Nelson was desk, doing some paperwork.

* * *

"What are you doing here so late, Karen?" Sheriff Nelson asked.

Sheriff Nelson was eyeing me and Sheriff Cline.

"We're locking up some murderers, Larry. Larry, this is our former sheriff, Jeremy Cline. He's the one you replaced. We caught the murderers from a cold case that happened twelve years ago," Karen said.

"These were the murderers that murdered my deputy twelve years ago," Sheriff Cline said.

"I'm sorry you had to leave the force, Sheriff Cline. Glad to hear the case is now solved. What are they arrested for?" Sheriff Nelson asked.

"First degree murder and robbery. They robbed my deputy when he was murdered in the patrol car while on duty. Read the case file," Sheriff Cline said.

"Is that what made you depressed?" Sheriff Nelson asked.

"Yes, sir," Sheriff Cline said.

Sheriff Cline said no more to Sheriff Nelson and headed to the men's prison cell to where Karen and Andy were.

"You know killing a police officer is wrong," Sheriff Cline told the robbers.

"You get life sentence without parole."

"That ain't fair," the fat guy complained.

"That's the way it works," Sheriff Cline said.

"I'm not very happy about the way you killed my deputy twelve years ago and my son was the witness," Sheriff Cline said.

"Did you know the name Andrew Jones?" Sheriff Cline asked.

"No," the two murderers said.

"That's not a good way to kill somebody if you don't know an officer of law to steal his cash and credit cards," Sheriff Cline said as he and Andy were leaving the cell.

"Karen, would you mind driving me and Andy home? I don't feel like talking anymore," Sheriff Cline said.

"Sure, Jeremy. I'd be glad to," Karen said.

She had a feeling the newspaper reporters would want to talk to them first thing tomorrow morning. As she pulled up to the Cline residence some minutes later, Sheriff Cline thanked her for her help.

"It was no big deal, Jeremy," she said.

She watched me and Sheriff Cline walk into the house and then she drove away.

"We're back, Terry," Sheriff Cline said, seeing his wife watching the late night news on TV.

"They're talking about the case on TV, Jeremy," she said.

"It made the news that fast? Wow," he said as the two friends went over to the couch to watch the late night news.

After watching the news on television, the four adults went to bed after turning the lights out.

Note: I'm sorry this was such a long chapter but I really didn't want to bore you all with this long word count but I wanted to finish chapter 9 so I hope you all enjoyed the Clines in this story. Go to my fictionpress account and read the first of the Cline series after this introduction to them in 'The New Law.' Happy reading!


	14. Chapter 10

Back in Mayberry, the telephone rang at the Taylor household. Aunt Bee ran to answer it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi, Bee. Did you see today's paper?" her friend, Clara Edwards asked.

"No, I haven't," Aunt Bee said.

"Go get the paper. There's something you should see," Clara told her.

"Why do I need to see it?" Aunt Bee asked.

"You'll see once you get the paper. It's on the front page," Clara said.

"Front page?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Yes. I'll hold while you go get it," Clara said.

"Okay," Aunt Bee said and left to get the paper at the front door.

"Morning, Aunt Bee," Opie said.

"Morning, Opie. Opie, would you get the newspaper for me?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Aunt Bee said.

She didn't know where Clara was getting at, so she watched as Opie went outside to get their newspaper.

"Here, Aunt Bee. Aunt Bee, look!" Opie said, surprised to see his father's picture in the front page.

"What?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Pa's in the paper!" Opie said.

She didn't know if that's what Clara wanted her to see or not.

"Give me that!" Aunt Bee said.

"It's front page, Aunt Bee," Opie said.

Aunt Bee took the paper from Opie. She saw the front page of _The Mayberry Gazette._

"You're not joking, Opie!" Aunt Bee said.

Clara could hear Aunt Bee's surprised voice in the background of the telephone. This is what she wanted Aunt Bee to see in the newspaper. She remembered watching the ten o'clock news on television last night and seeing Andy on the news.

"We'll read this later, Opie. Right now I'm talking to Clara. You get ready for school," Aunt Bee said.

"I can't drive to school, Aunt Bee. I don't have my license," Opie reminded her.

"Hold on. I'll drive you," Aunt Bee said.

"Okay," Opie said.

"Clara, I saw the front page. Is that what you wanted me to see?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Yes, Bee. That's what I wanted you to see. Andy was on the news last night on TV," Clara said.

"I must have missed it because I went to bed with a headache. Did they interview Andy?" Aunt Bee asked.

"No. He was just seen," Clara said.

"I'll read the article after I drop Opie off at school. I have to go now so I can drive him to school," Aunt Bee said.

"All right, Bee. We'll talk later," Clara said and she hung up the telephone.

In town, Barney was sitting outside of the sheriff's office, reading that day's newspaper. He hadn't seen the front page yet but he wanted to check out the sports section. That's when Goober showed up.

"Hi, Barney," Goober said.

"Hi, Goob," Barney said.

"Have you seen last night's ten o'clock news or this morning's front page?" Goober asked.

"No. Why?" Barney asked.

"It's something about our sheriff," Goober said.

"I'm almost done reading the sports section," Barney said.

"Give me the paper," Goober said.

"Why?" Barney asked.

"I want to show you something," Goober said.

Barney gave Goober the paper without finishing the sports section.

"This is what I want you to see," Goober said, showing Barney the front page of _The Mayberry Gazette._

The headline read: Deputy cold case solved

"Is this what you wanted me to see?" Barney asked, seeing the headline.

"Yes, Barney. It was Andy that solved this twelve – year – old case. Will you read it to me?" Goober asked.

"Don't you know how to read?" Barney asked, sighing.

"All right, Goob. I'll read," Barney said.

"Goody," Goober said.

"I love it when you read to me, Barney," Goober said.

"You know this ain't a bedtime story, Goober," Barney said.

"I know that," Goober said.

Before reading, Barney cleared his throat. Barney cleared his throat and began to read the article.

"After twelve years of working on a twelve – year – old deputy murder case, it is now shut down. The former sheriff of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sheriff Jeremy Cline, would like to thank an old friend of his that helped solved the murder case, an officer from Mayberry, North Carolina, Sheriff Andrew Taylor," the article began.

"During an interview with the newspaper the following morning, while asked how the case was solved, Sheriff Taylor said, "It was nothing. All you have to do is make the young 'uns talk if they're hiding a secret from their family to open if they are the star witness to the case. Then they will talk. It's that simple."

"While asked a question who solved the case, all Sheriff Cline said was it was his son that was the star witness to the case that helped wrapped up the case twelve years later when he was sheriff working the case twelve years ago when Deputy Jones was first murdered. Twelve years ago, Sheriff Cline was first diagnosed with severe depression and had his driver's license taken away for life. His friends and family are driving him around town if he wants to go places. Twelve years ago, after having his license taken away, Cline was sitting behind his desk full – time and could no longer drive the patrol car to protect his town or go on patrol with Deputy McCarey and Officer Williams. The murderers are going to trial for their sentence the following week. They were under arrest by former sheriff Cline for first degree murder and robbery," the article continued.

"If you know somebody like former Sheriff Cline who is diagnosed with severe depression, please give that person advice to help out and do things for them such as helping the family by doing their laundry and other things. If that person or Cline himself has had suicide thoughts in near future, please call the suicide hotline. Don't leave that person alone for one flat minute. Twelve years ago until this year, Cline and his wife were seeing a marriage counselor to get advice on how to keep them together because of Cline's severe depression. They didn't want to get divorced because of all the problems Cline was having with the murder case. They are still married today and never parted," the article read on.

"And today, former sheriff Cline is no longer sheriff and will be happy to give advice in near future if others want advice on cases they are working on. As for Deputy Jones' family, they are happy the case is shut down and the murderers behind bars. They will now accept Jones' death. Twelve years ago the family didn't accept the fact he was murdered and took the murder very hard for thirty – year – old Deputy Jones. Rest in peace, Deputy Jones," the article finished.

"That's it, Goob," Barney said and put the paper down.

"Now you know why I wanted to show you the front page, right?" Goober asked.

"Yes, Goob. Will you leave me alone?" Barney asked.

"Why? Are you telling me to get lost?" Goober asked.

"Yup," Barney said.

"That's not very nice," Goober said.

That's when the two of them saw the town drunk, Otis Campbell.

"Hi, Goober, Barney," Otis said.

"Otis, what are you doing here? Today's not your day to be here," Barney said.

"I know, Barney. Did you see the paper?" Otis asked.

"What subject?" Barney asked.

"The front page," Otis said.

"I just read it," Barney said.

"He read it to me," Goober said.

"Darn. Wish I came earlier," Otis said.

He wanted Barney to read to him but he was a bit late for that.

"Andy was mentioned in the paper," Otis said, "but I also saw him on the ten o'clock TV news last night."

"Andy was on the news too? You're kidding but that ain't true," Barney said.

"Well, it is," Goober and Otis said in unison.

Barney didn't believe the two.


	15. Chapter 11

A couple days ago, I came back to Mayberry. I parked my car in the driveway and found the house empty. I went to the mailbox and found the mail waiting for the mail to be checked. I was happy to be back home in Mayberry but enjoyed my stay in Milwaukee with my friend, Sheriff Cline. I knew it had been years since I had last seen Sheriff Cline. I saw in the mail I had gotten a letter from Sheriff Cline. I opened the letter from Cline.

It read:

_Dear Andy,_

_Thank you for helping me solve the cold case on my deputy. I appreciate your help on solving the case. It means a lot to me. If you never helped me at all on this case, I would have never known it was Tony who was the star witness behind this whole thing. Now we know who did the murder on my deputy, they are going to court next week and getting their sentence there._

_Tony isn't going to court because he is still too young. All Terry and I decided what was best for Tony since you made him spill the beans to me is that I am taking him to the courthouse and he will have to write his statement on what he saw and the court will read Tony's statement on what he saw twelve years ago. Thanks again for your help._

_As for myself, I went to the doctor the day you left. We talked about my depression treatment. Since my therapy treatment never worked, we thought best I stopped going there. I am off of those medicines and I am sticking with one medicine (Cymbalta). The best thing the doctor thought was to help my treatment was for me to try supplements with my medication. Back then when Andy was murdered, I hardly ate anything. I didn't eat my first entire meal until you came to the house._

_Now the case is closed, I am starting to do my activities again. I still want my driver's license back, but that won't be happening. My wife and son will still drive me around. When Terry and Tony aren't home to drive me around when I want to go somewhere, I have to call somebody who will drive me around. Somebody like my neighbors or my friends or whoever is with me. One more thing. I am starting to sleep better at night but I am sleeping with a machine that helps me sleep better during the night so that won't disappear either. I'm sorry but I have to leave. Hope to hear from you again soon. Give my love to Opie and Aunt Bee. _

_Your friend,_

_Jeremy_

"Ain't that nice," I said as I opened the front door to my house.

"Andy, is that you?" Aunt Bee asked when she saw me walk into the house.

"Yes, Aunt Bee," I said, mail in my hands.

"We saw the newspaper the other day and your name was mentioned. Clara said she saw you on the ten o'clock news," Aunt Bee said.

"You mean the cold case, right?" I asked.

"Right. How did you do it?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Just like the paper and the news said, it's true," I said.

"That's good. I'm sure Jeremy is feeling better," Aunt Bee said.

"He is. I just got a letter from him," I said.

"What did it say?" Aunt Bee asked.

"You can read it," I said.

"All right. Opie and the girls are still in school," Aunt Bee said.

"That's fine. I'll pick Opie up. I want to talk to him," I said.

"Is it about the case?" Aunt Bee asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Don't worry about the girls, Andy. I think Martha and Laura are going to be with their friends after school, so you and Opie can have your private talk," Aunt Bee said.

"Thanks, Aunt Bee. I want to make it a private one," I said.

It was time for Opie to get out of school. He sure missed playing football after school. He remembered he was still grounded. Opie was surprised to see my car in front of Mayberry High School a few minutes later. Opie was happy to see me again. Once Opie saw the car, he went straight to the car and got into the passenger's seat.

"Hi, Pa!" Opie said.

"Hi, Op. Mind if we talk?" I asked.

"About what?" Opie asked as I drove away from the school.

"Your punishment," I said.

"What about it?" Opie asked.

"I have news for you," I said.

"What news?" Opie asked.

"Will you just let me talk?" I asked.

"Sorry, Pa."

"I visited my friend in Milwaukee, Op. The boy you met when you went there for your football game confessed he was the star witness to the murder case," I said.

"He did? What are they going to do now, Pa? Ground him?" Opie asked.

"You don't punish somebody who is the star witness to a murder case, Opie. When somebody is a star witness in a crime, that means they are the hero to the whole thing like the boy you met," I said.

"You mean he wasn't fooling when he told me? You mean he was tellin' the truth?" Opie asked.

"That's right," I said.

"Wow," Opie said.

"Now we have the murderers who killed his pa's deputy, the murderers are going to court next week and getting their sentence. The boy you talked to won't be at the trial because he is too young. All he is going to do is write his statement on what he saw," I said.

"How come he can't go to the trial, Pa?" Opie asked.

"If he went to the trial, Op, it would be too murderous for him. His ma and pa have decided it would be best fro him to have an oral. When he is eighteen he will start going to trial and everything," I explained.

"Now about your punishment, Op. As for you, since you talked to the star witness himself at your football game, this case is now solved. You are now no longer punished. I hope you learned your lesson about stealing evidence in a murder case that was twelve years old," I said.  
"I sure did, Pa. Does that mean I get to drive again?" Opie asked.

"Yes, but we'll have to get your license at the courthouse where I left if. We'll go there next," I said.

"Okay," Opie said and the two of us drove to the sheriff's office in office.

Once we made it to the sheriff's office, me and Opie parked next to the squad car and got out of the car and locked the car and walked into the sheriff's office. Once we walked into the office, we found Barney.

"Ange! I didn't know you were home. Welcome back," Barney said surprised.

"Hi, Op," Barney said.

"Hi, Barney. Barney, guess what?" Opie said with a smile on his face.

"What?" Barney said.

"I'm not grounded anymore," he said happily.

"That's good. I sure hope you learned your lesson by stealing evidence in a crime scene. You should know at age sixteen that's a no – no," Barney said.

"Pa told me that already," Opie said.

I gave Opie his driver's license.

"Thanks, Pa. I'm going to call Cassie and see if she wants to go out tonight," Opie said.

"Dating rules don't start until Friday," I said.

"Why? I thought they started tonight," Opie said.

"That's part of your punishment, Op. You can start playing football tomorrow but dating doesn't start until Friday," I said.

"Shoot," Opie said as he left the sheriff's office.

As soon as Opie was gone, Barney said, "I have news myself, Ange."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Thelma Lou and I are back together. She's now speaking to me again after what happened on the night I messed up the tango," Barney said.

"That's good to hear. You won't believe all the people I met in Milwaukee," I said.

"What are those people like, Ange?" Barney asked, relieved that he and Thelma Lou were talking again.

"A lot of them are just like the folks out here," I said.

"Really? Any of them like me?" Barney asked.

"I didn't meet any of you out there but I'm sure there is one of you there," I said.

"Did you meet any Goobers and Floyds out there?" Barney asked.

"You bet I did. You would have to come with me next time and see for yourself, Barn. Goober out in the city is also a mechanic. He's pretty strange," I said.

"Does he were strange hats like Goober out in the small town does?" Barney asked.

"No. He likes sports hats better," I said.

"That's different," Barney said.

"Tell me about Floyd in the city. What is he like?" Barney asked.

"Pretty much the same as the one here," I said.

"That ain't a surprise, Ange. Tell me about the Cline house," Barney said.

"You don't want to know, Barn. It was kind of a nightmare," I said.

"Why?"

"It's changed since he and I have lost contact with each other. They don't have things you and I do, Barney. Their technology has changed. For example, their TV set is different from ours. You don't have to get up to change the channels anymore. You can sit down and change the channels," I said.

"That's different. How do you change the channels at their house without getting up?" Barney asked.

"They have this thing called a remote control to change the channel," I said.

"I've never heard of those."

"Now you have, Barney. They look like fun but they don't use the TV much," I said.

"What else has changed since our time?" Barney asked.

"The record player. They don't have those anymore. They have these things called iPods and CD players that replaced the record player so you could still listen to music whenever you want," I said.

"I've never heard of those either," Barney said.

"Me either, but wait until we don't use the TV to switch channels and stuff," I said.

"Whenever that'll be," Barney said.

"Yeah, Barn. We'll just have to wait till the time comes."


End file.
